Solar Decathlon

Project data
Type	Solar decathlon
Authors	U.S. Department of Energy
Years	2012
OKH Manifest	Download

The U.S. Department of Energy's^W Solar Decathlon is a competitive program in which teams of college students compete to think of, create and operate solar-powered houses. These houses must be good-looking, energy-efficient and cost-effective as they will be judged for the program. The team that builds the best houses, based on energy use/consumption, great design and best looking for the consumers wins the Solar Decathlon. The competition allows visitors to look at the houses built for free and during certain hours to see how they can make their own homes more energy-efficient, more environmentally friendly or to just make their bills cheaper.

The first Solar Decathlon was held in 2002; the competition has since occurred biennially in 2005, 2007, 2009, and 2011. The next Solar Decathlon will be on October 3rd-13th, 2013, at Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California..^[1]

History

The Solar Decathlon has been going strong since 2002 and in only the first ten years of it's creation, it influenced many people to try to establish a more energy-efficient based homes for the success and sustainability of the future. In the beginning, only fourteen different school-based teams competed in the Solar Decathlon and as of 2012, over ninety teams have competed. The Solar Decathlon doesn't have a long history, but it is growing in popularity as the years and publicity increase.

The first Solar Decathlon took place at the National Mall in Washington DC on September 19th—October 6th, 2002, where fourteen teams competed from the US and Puerto Rico. The University of Colorado won.
The second Solar Decathlon took place at the National Mall again on October 6th—16th, 2005, three years after the first Solar Decathlon. Eighteen teams from the US, Spain and Canada all competed. The University of Colorado won again.
The third Solar Decathlon took place at the National Mall again on October 12th—20th, 2007. This was the Solar Decathlon that created the biennial pattern, continuing on the previous two years before. Twenty teams competed this time from the US, Canada, Spain, and for the first time, Germany. Germany's team, Technische Universität Darmstadt won.
The fourth Solar Decathlon took place at the National Mall like usual on October 8th—18th, 2009. Just like in 2007, twenty teams from the US, Canada, Spain and Germany competed and just like the University of Colorado, the Germany team won for second time.
The fifth Solar Decathlon again took place at the National Mall on Sept. 23–Oct. 2, 2011. Only nineteen teams from the US, Canada, China, Belgium and New Zealand competed in this competition. The University of Maryland won.^[2]

Purpose and impact

The purpose of the Solar Decathlon was simple, but the impact it created is as great as it was imagined to be.

Purpose

The Solar Decathlon:

Teaches the community and the students who build the houses about sustainable living and cost-saving, energy-efficient methods.
Shows the public what renewable energy can do for the homes when they attempt to create a better home with more energy-efficient appliances and methods.
Allows the students to learn to become better workers for the future workforce.

The Impact

The Solar Decathlon:

Had 92 different teams compete to create solar-powered, energy-efficient houses.
Created worldwide fame for teaching sustainable living and good work ethics to thousands of students.
Affected the lives of 15,000 collegiate participants.
Invited schools in the Washington DC area from grades K-12 to learn about sustainable living on field trips.^[3]

Participants

Teams for 2013

The 2013 Solar Decathlon teams include:

Arizona State University and The University of New Mexico
Czech Republic: Czech Technical University
Kentucky/Indiana: University of Louisville, Ball State University and University of Kentucky
Middlebury College
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Norwich University
Santa Clara University
Southern California Institute of Architecture and California Institute of Technology
Stanford University
Stevens Institute of Technology
Team Alberta: University of Calgary
Team Austria: Vienna University of Technology
Team Capitol DC: The Catholic University of America, George Washington University, and American University
Team Ontario: Queen's University, Carleton University, and Algonquin College
Team Texas: The University of Texas at El Paso and El Paso Community College
Tidewater Virginia: Hampton University and Old Dominion University
University of Nevada Las Vegas
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
University of Southern California
West Virginia University^[4]

International participants

An Australian entry:

...our students at the University of Wollongong have been successful in winning a place in the finals of the Solar Decathlon competition in China, which will be held in July-August 2013. And we also won entry to the competition in the US as well, I might say. And we're the first Australian university to have won a place in any of the Solar Decathlon competitions.
— Paul Cooper, Director, Sustainable Buildings Research Centre, University of Wollongong.^[5]

(Another Australian effort: Solar Decathlon Australia, which appears to be a past attempt at entering the Challenge. Status: Unknown.)

External Links

References

↑ Solar Decathlon
↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Decathlon Wikipedia Article on the Solar Decathlon
↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20210318001834/https://www.solardecathlon.gov/about.html
↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20150924103545/http://www.solardecathlon.gov/teams.html
↑ Source: Retrofitting existing buildings key to reducing consumption, 19 May 2012, The Science Show, ABC Radio National (Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Page data
Keywords	solar, solar decathlon, competition
SDG	SDG11 Sustainable cities and communities, SDG12 Responsible consumption and production
License	CC-BY-SA-3.0
Language	English (en)
Related	0 subpages, 0 pages link here
Views	129 page views (analytics)
Created	October 15, 2007 by Baron
Last edit	June 18, 2024 by Felipe Schenone
Cite as	Ntkoessel, Chriswaterguy (2007–2024). "Solar Decathlon". Appropedia. Retrieved October 3, 2026.
API queries	basic, semantic, html, files, more

[Official_Solar_Decathlon_Website-1] Solar Decathlon

[2] ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Decathlon Wikipedia Article on the Solar Decathlon

[3] ttp://web.archive.org/web/20210318001834/https://www.solardecathlon.gov/about.html

[4] ttp://web.archive.org/web/20150924103545/http://www.solardecathlon.gov/teams.html

[5] Source: Retrofitting existing buildings key to reducing consumption, 19 May 2012, The Science Show, ABC Radio National (Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

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