After the Dutch Technology Week (DTW), in which the whole of the Netherlands got to know LINQ through media or an actual tour, team VIRTUe started 'the real work'. According to spokesman and architecture student Michiel Derikx, that means packing the house and transporting and rebuilding it in Dubai to participate in Solar Decathlon Middle East 2018.

Last summer we worked on the power supply, the water system and the cooling. We arranged accommodation for the team and made a decision about taking Stella along. "We will sleep with all fifty of us for seven weeks in a hotel which gives us space as it does with their own staff," says Derikx.

New insights

A number of issues have been adjusted, the spokesman explains. "For power we have now opted for a hybrid system with eighty percent direct current and twenty percent alternating current. The plan was that we would not convert the direct current from the solar panels into alternating current because that is really only necessary for power transport which is minimal here. But because of the rules of the competition and the fact that there is not much domestic equipment available on the Dutch market that works on direct current, that is not possible."

VIRTUe has also taken a step back in terms of sustainable water supply. "We did not get everything sponsored," Derikx explains the lack of the desired recycling of, among other things, dirty water. "We have installed an upfall shower. That shower recycles water while you are using it. It is filtered, disinfected and brought up to temperature again."

Heat

During the DTW, the solar panels and the air conditioning were not yet operational. They are connected in the summer period. "We had the air conditioning in use for two days, and then packed immediately because we are so thrifty. That's a shame because it was unbelievably hot." The team started working at seven o'clock in the morning already during the heatwave, until it was no longer tolerable, around two o'clock.