2007 Solar Decathalon
The 2007 Solar Decathalon was recently held in Washington D.C.: twenty teams from colleges and universities designed and constructed solar powered houses. Groups from all over the world applied, and 20 were selected to submit their houses with the help of $100,000 from the Department of Energy. The selected teams were mainly from the US, but there were two teams from Europe, and one each from Canada and Puerto Rico.
The houses were to be completely independent from the power grid, to the extent that one of the requirements was to use energy generated from the home to power commercially available cars. Photovoltaic cells were used to generate power, although one house also had three windgenerators. All had solar driven water and space heating systems.
There were ten contests from which the teams could gain points. “Architecture” provided most points and livability contests of various kinds featured highly. Engineering was just one of the contests so that the houses are more than a technical solution to the problem. It is true, however, that many of these homes would stand out in Melbourne streets and might have some difficulty gaining planning approval.
Visitors were able to view the homes during the competition period and apparently interest was high with long queues.
The winning entry was from Technische Universität Darmstadt Germany. Bosch appliances were used extensively. Sponsorship in kind and money was important to all entrants as $100,000 represents a small part of the cost of development and construction, typically over two years. Photos indicate that the German team had more than 30 student and faculty members which I assume is typical of team size.
The next contest is in 2009 and I hope that some Australian institutions are quietly preparing their entries. I will donate a copy of the Home Energy Analysis System!