Before announcing the winner of the Solar Decathlon, the Department of Energy announced the results of the last juried contest for Market Appeal. Middlebury College landed first place for Self-Reliance, while Maryland followed in second place with WaterShed and New Zealand in third place with First Light.
The results are in for another contest at Solar Decathlon 2011 and the winner of the architecture phase is the University of Maryland with WaterShed. Team New Zealand (Victoria University of Wellington) took second place with First Light, and Appalachian State University took third place with the Solar Homestead.
The Solar Decathlon evolved this year with the advent of the Affordability Contest. It replaced the Lighting Design Contest, which was subsumed within other contests in the competition. Pursuant to the rules, teams receive up to 100 points by achieving an estimated construction cost of $250,000 or less. Above that, there’s a sliding scale with no points awarded for homes with a construction cost above $600,000.
Today, the Solar Decathlon officially opens to the public and the games begin. The competition is organized by the Department of Energy, and 19 teams have invested more than two years of effort to design, build, and operate solar-powered homes that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive. The winner will be the one with the highest score after the following ten contests:
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Solar Decathlon — a competition for 20 university-led teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are energy efficient, affordable, and attractive — may get an entirely new venue in 2013. Today Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced that the DOE is considering offers for a new Solar Decathlon 2013 venue through a “request for capability” open through August 29, 2011.
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