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Advantech sponsors University of Cincinnati’s solar decathlon participation

10/03/2007

Cincinnati, Ohio, October 3 - The Industrial Automation Group of Advantech has always been a strong advocate of developing energy conservation opportunities. As part of this advocacy, it will aid the University of Cincinnati in its participation in the s IThe U.S. Department of Energy's 2007 Solar Decathlon; a competition of 20 teams from colleges and universities around the globe to participate in an unparalleled solar competition to design, build, and operate the most attractive and energy-efficient solar-powered home.

These teams compete in 10 different contests to determine the overall winner. They are: Architecture, Engineering, Market Viability, Communications, Comfort Zone, Appliances, Hot Water, Lighting, Energy Balance, and Getting Around.

The critical outcome of the Solar Decathlon project is the development and demonstration of solar-powered homes in which, by the year 2015, the whole-house, levelized energy cost has been reduced to $.10/kWh. This needs to be achieved while complying with the criteria associated with the 10 contests the competition comprises.

The University of Cincinnati was one of the 20 selected universities to participate in this contest. The University of Cincinnati’s team consists of an interdisciplinary team representing four separate colleges within the university. From the beginning, it has been a student lead and inspired project, while receiving incomparable support and guidance from faculty and administrators.

Advantech has a close relationship with the University of Cincinnati, just recently opening up the Advantech ePlatform Lab on the main campus. Advantech saw this as another opportunity to promote growth and education in the engineering field as well as building awareness in the conservation of energy to better our planet as well as our homes. Advantech provides many of the products the university required to build this solar-powered home. Some of the products provided were the ADAM-5550KW (an 8-slot Programmable Automation Controller), the TPC-1570H (Intel Celeron M Touch Panel Computer with 15″ XGA TFT LCD), and some ADAM-4000 series modules (Analog Input/Output devices).

To learn more about the University of Cincinnati’s participation in this event, visit www.solar.uc.edu