DIY Network

Solar Decathlon: The Winner! From "Special Presentation" episode DSDL05-S

It's the last day of competition and the winner of the Solar Decathlon is determined.

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Teams can earn big points by driving their solar electric cars.

Final Moments

The cloudy weather broke competitors into two camps of strategy. One is to use all the energy up in their batteries to drive more, run the appliances, do all the activities using the energy up in their house, or they are trying to bring their battery banks back up and get the 100 points for energy balance.

Richard King of the Department of Energy says that just because the teams are struggling doesn't mean that solar power can't work under cloudy conditions. In the decathlon, these are stand alone houses. They are battery powered and not connected to the grid. If they were grid connected like 99% of all houses in the USA are, on cloudy days you'd draw from the grid and on sunny days you'd drive your meter backwards.

2005 Solar Decathlon Winners

1st Place Solar Decathlon Winner: University of Colorado

The Colorado house flawlessly blends sustainability with livability. Their commitment to using agricultural based products throughout the house went above and beyond the requirements for the contest. Their steady strategy and clever engineering kept them ahead of the weather and the competition. The team set out to show the public that no matter what, solar is a natural choice.

2nd Place Solar Decathlon Winner: Cornell

Cornell's elegant entry paid equal attention to the interior and exterior environment. The team went with energy efficient appliances and krypton-filled, energy efficient windows which helped their house not only look great, but it also worked great in all conditions showcasing the power of solar energy.

3rd Place Solar Decathlon Winner: Cal Poly

Cal Poly stuck with a keep-it-simple approach in their design and engineering using passive solar techniques like shading devices made from PV panels.

For more information on the Solar Decathlon competition and the teams that participated, click HERE!

RESOURCES :

Solar Decathlon
Website: www.solardecathlon.com

Solar Decathlon Product Directory
Website: www.ebike.net/sd/index.php?source=doe

California Polytechnic State University
Website: www.solardecathlon.calpoly.edu/

Canadian Solar Decathlon
Concordia University and Universite de Montreal
Website: www.canadiansolar.org

Cornell University
Website: www.cusd.cornell.edu/

Crowder College
Website: www.crowder.edu/solar/2005/

Florida International University
Website: www.solar.fiu.edu/

New York Institute of Technology
Website: http://iris.nyit.edu/solardecathlon/

Pittsburgh Synergy
Carnegie Mellon, University of Pittsburgh and
The Art Institute of Pittsburgh
Website: www.pittsburghsynergy.org

Rhode Island School of Design
Website: http://solar.risd.edu/

Universidad Politecnica de Madrid
Website: www.solardecathlon.upm.es/

Universidad de Puerto Rico
Website: http://solar.uprm.edu/

University of Colorado, Denver and Boulder
Website: http://solar.colorado.edu/

University of Maryland
Website: www.solarhouse.umd.edu/

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Website: www.umassd.edu/solar/

University of Michigan
Website: www.misohouse.org

University of Missouri-Rolla and
Rolla Technical Institute
Website: http://solarhouse.umr.edu/

University of Texas at Austin
Website: www.utsolard.org

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Website: http://vtsolar.arch.vt.edu/

Washington State University
Website: www.arch.wsu.edu/solardec/