Solar Decathlon Embeds in Washington, D.C.

[n2doc]

By David Biello | September 23, 2011 |

Homes shaped like a cocoon, a mound and a Y now stand in a park adjacent to the National Mall, looking for a ray of sunshine. Amidst the brouhaha surrounding the loan to solar-module manufacturer Solyndra, the latest "solar decathlon" competition begins today, September 23, in Washington, D.C.—leading to a cohort of 20 innovative solar homes standing in West Potomac Park.

Since 2002 the U.S. Department of Energy has put on such a competition every couple of years, aiming to train students in the art of solar building. The idea is to challenge the teams of college students to "design, build and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient and attractive." Judge the latter for yourself in the following pictures.

The rules of the competition are simple: design the kind of house described above and assemble it in Washington, D.C., for judging. Then juries of experts evaluate each entrant on architecture, appeal, engineering, communications (meaning how well the designers explain their house to others), affordability, comfort, hot water production, appliance efficiency, home entertainment (ecofriendly dinner parties and movie nights with your neighbors!), and, finally, how much energy the house actually produces. And you can participate, too, by helping vote for the "People's Choice Award."

The goal is to glean some of the bright ideas from these homes and embed them in the real world. The idea has proved so popular that similar competitions have spread to Europe (next event, spring 2012) and, most recently, China (mark your calendars for 2013).

more
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=us-solar-decathlon-slide-show

[Eddie Haskell]

1. I'm going down Friday.

I wish it was open later on weekdays. It runs from 10 a.m. til 2 p.m. Four hours isn't enough time to go through 20 homes.

[thecrow]

2. We went to this a couple of times...it's GREAT!

If you are local to DC try to get down there! You will learn a lot!