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A SQUAD of young Bahrainis is leading the charge against climate change and building the Arab home of the future – a life-size prototype of which will be showcased at a top regional solar competition.
Team ‘Go Smart’, comprised of University of Bahrain (UoB) students, has built a smart home that is environmentally-friendly with a minimal carbon footprint while being culturally adapted to the needs of Arab families.
The crew will be competing with other regional and international teams during the Solar Decathlon Middle East, which will kick off on November 11 at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai.
“The realistic nature of the competition – which is not individualistic and brings together a multidisciplinary team and attitude – really spoke to me, not to mention the sustainability aspect that it brings forward. It merges solution-finding for climate change with the Middle Eastern climate and heritage,” the group’s student team leader Rawan Jahromi, 23, explained.
They will be showcasing their concept at the solar park, alongside Team Tawazun (Manipal Academy of Higher Education in Dubai, UAE), Team Harmony (The British University in Dubai, UAE), Team Ku (Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, UAE), Team Desert Phoenix (American University in Dubai, UAE), Team Esteem (Heriot-Watt University Dubai, UAE), Team Sharjah (University of Sharjah, UAE) and Team SCUTxCSCEC (South China University of Technology, China).
Dana AlMoawda, a 25-year-old Civil Engineering graduate is the project manager for the ‘home’, and the team has been busy planning for the last two years, under the guidance of faculty adviser Dr Hanan Albuflasa.
‘Go Smart’ currently consists of 51 members including UoB students, alumni, staff and faculty as well as specialised external consultants.
“This decathlon is the perfect opportunity to come up with sustainable innovative solutions for Middle Eastern homes,” Dana added.
“It has also broadened my perspective in the engineering field, while being the project manager of the team has taught me a lot in terms of planning and being prepared, no matter what challenges come up.” From November 11 to 21, the team’s house, which integrates solar panels, expandable internal spaces and a station for electric cars, will be put to a real-life test.
There will be 10 separately scored contests assessing architecture, engineering and construction, energy management and efficiency, comfort conditions, house functions, sustainable transportation, communication and innovation.
Challenges will include cooking and hosting a dinner party, clothes washing and drying, as well as driving an electric car for three hours, after being solely charged using the house’s energy sources.
In addition, conditions like temperature, air quality, humidity, net electrical balance and load consumption within the houses will be continuously monitored to assess how the home would adapt to real-world challenges.
The competition is part of Expo 2020 and the solar park will be opened to the public from November 11 to 25.
