A glimpse of the future was on display Oct. 8-18 at the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Twenty U.S. and international universities designed and built solar-powered homes to compete in the 2009 Solar Decathlon, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. Raising public awareness of renewable energy and energy efficiency is one of the reasons the DOE supports the biennial event.
‘Yes, solar can work, and you don’t have to give modern conveniences up,’ Richard King, DOE director of the Solar Decathlon, said. King also stressed the importance of functionality as well as reliability.
The DOE provided each team with $100,000 in seed money, and any additional funds had to be raised independently. Each house was equipped with photovoltaic (PV) panels, more commonly known as solar panels.
Teams used green technologies and architectural techniques that included high-performance windows, energy efficient lighting and solar water heating. Some teams highlighted other features such as gardens, rainwater collection systems and the use of eco-friendly materials. Others displayed innovative products that will soon hit the market.
Several teams made sure to include simple, easily integrated techniques in their designs, such as passive solar strategies, an example of which would be installing a window that utilizes daylight instead of replacing a light bulb.
‘A lot of times sustainable features are expensive; sometimes we forget the simple things,’ Catherine Guidry of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette said. ‘We need to use a combination of strategies-both are great.’
The team from the University of Illinois shared similar thoughts.
Alan Mellovitz said that designs should consider the big picture, which includes heating, cooling and lighting.
According to event organizers, this year’s competition was enhanced by recent advances in net metering, wherein PV-equipped houses are tied to the electrical grid system in order to generate power for the local utility company.
This exchange can also be helpful in storing excess energy. Moreover, the reciprocal flow of electricity gives homeowners the ability to reduce electricity bills by giving back to the utility company any excess power their homes produce.
A ‘net zero’ household would produce enough power to be energy self-sufficient, thereby receiving no power from the grid.
Teams competing for most-efficient household in the Solar Decathlon simulated in-home activities, such as doing laundry and watching movies. When appropriate, teams invited others from the solar ‘neighborhood’ to events and gatherings in their homes.
Decathlon organizers then calculated teams’ total electrical usage compared to their total solar energy gained.
Team Germany was named the winner of the competition for the second time, having also won in 2007.
‘Germany won this contest because they had the best-performing house overall,’ King said, adding that their household ‘had the most surplus because they had the largest solar array.’
Mike Gestwick of Team Alberta said that some schools strived for mechanics to optimize energy performance and suggested that these mechanical efforts would be significant if the competition had limited the size of the solar arrays.
The University of Illinois placed second overall, while Team California placed third.
The public supported the Solar Decathlon with robust attendance, despite the event being in only its fourth year. According to organizers, the number of attendees doubled to nearly 200,000 in 2007 from around 100,000 at the first event in 2002. Since the Solar Decathlon’s inception, 74 teams have participated in the event.
Daniel Poneman, U.S. deputy secretary of energy, attended the awards ceremony.
‘This is the promise of the future,’ Poneman said.
Proposals for the 2011 Solar Decathlon are due Nov. 17.
