Solar Decathlon teams selected for October competition
WASHINGTON, DC, US, May 30, 2007. Twenty teams from four countries will compete in the third Solar Decathlon competition this October in the U.S. capital.
The U.S. Department of Energy says the teams selected from the U.S., Puerto Rico, Germany, Spain and Canada will compete on the National Mall to design, build and operate the most attractive and energy efficient solar-powered home. The Solar Decathlon complements President Bush’s Solar America Initiative, which seeks to make solar energy cost-competitive with conventional forms of electricity by 2015.
“I am eager to see these students demonstrate how we can better harness clean and renewable solar energy to transform the way we power our homes and businesses,” says energy secretary Samuel Bodman. “The technologies and approaches we will see on the National Mall are central to reaching the President’s goal of increasing our nation’s energy security by pushing forward revolutionary technologies that will allow us to become less reliant on imported sources of energy.”
For nine days, the National Mall will be a showcase for solar and building technologies. Beginning October 12, teams will be judged in ten areas covering architecture, engineering, livability, comfort, power generation for space heating and cooling, water heating, and powering lights and appliances.
The prototype solar homes are zero-energy, yield zero carbon, and will include the latest high-technology solutions and money-saving benefits to consumers, without sacrificing comfort, convenience and aesthetics. Each house must produce surplus energy to power an electric car.
In 2002 and 2005, the Solar Decathlon drew 100,000 visitors to tour the homes and to learn about design and construction techniques. Advanced technologies on display will include translucent walls used for day lighting; structural insulated panels for improved insulating value; solar heated floors; fibre optic cables attached to solar collectors to transmit light inside a house; and integrated solar photovoltaic power generation systems.
The colleges and universities competing in the 2007 Solar Decathlon are Carnegie Mellon University, Cornell University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Kansas State University, Lawrence Technological University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York Institute of Technology, Pennsylvania State University, Santa Clara University, Team Montréal (Ecole de Technologie Supérieure, Université de Montréal, McGill University), Technische Universität Darmstadt, Texas A&M University, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Universidad de Puerto Rico, University of Cincinnati, University of Colorado, University of Illinois, University of Maryland, University of Missouri - Rolla and University of Texas at Austin.
The Solar Decathlon is sponsored by DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, in partnership with its National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which manages the event. The American Institute of Architects, BP, Sprint, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating & Air-Conditioning Engineers, and the National Association of Home Builders are title sponsors.
The Solar Decathlon is an international collegiate competition and a critical outcome is the development and demonstration of solar-powered homes in which, by 2015, the whole-house, levelized energy cost has been reduced to $.10/kWh. Scoring gives 200 points for architecture, 150 for engineering and 150 for market viability, and 100 points each for communications, comfort zone, appliances, hot water, lighting, energy balance and getting around.
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