Team North - Information - U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon 2009

u.s. d.o.e. solar decathlon 2009

2007 media impact

The U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon is a biennial international competition and public event where 20 university teams from around the world compete to build the design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house. The event is the US Department of Energy’s premiere public event, and attracts thousands of visitors to the National Mall in Washington D.C.

In 2007, the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon drew an estimated crowd of 200,000, and reached more than 647 million people around the world through online, TV, radio and print publication combined.

U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon Gathering

	October 1, 2009 Teams arrive at the National Mall and begin assembly of their houses.
	October 8, 2009 Competitions begin
	October 9, 2009 Houses are open to the Public
	October 19, 2009 Teams disassemble their houses.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon brings attention to one of the biggest challenges we face—an ever-increasing need for energy. As an internationally recognized event, it offers powerful solutions—using energy more efficiently and using energy from renewable sources.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon has several goals:

1.	To educate the student participants - the "Decathletes" - about the benefits of energy efficiency, renewable energy and green building technologies. As the next generation of engineers, builders, and communicators, the Decathletes will be able to use this knowledge in their studies and their future careers.
2.	To raise awareness among the general public about renewable energy and energy efficiency, and how solar energy technologies can reduce energy usage.
3.	To help solar energy technologies enter the marketplace faster. This competition encourages the research and development of energy efficiency and energy production technologies.
4.	To foster collaboration among students from different academic disciplines—including engineering and architecture students, who rarely work together until they enter the workplace.
5.	To promote an integrated or "whole building design" approach to new construction. This approach differs from the traditional design/build process because the design team considers the interactions of all building components and systems to create a more comfortable building, save energy, and reduce environmental impact.
6.	To demonstrate to the public the potential of Zero Energy Homes, which produce as much energy from renewable sources, such as the sun and wind, as they consume. Even though the home might be connected to a utility grid, it has net zero energy consumption from the utility provider.

Articles in 12 of the top 20 US newspapers, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Detailed coverage by CBS Sunday Morning, New Hour with Jim Lehrer, CNN, CNBC, and the CBS Radio Network.

Featured numerous times on ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox across the US.

Regional coverage in New York City, Los Angeles, Dallas, San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, Houston, Detroit, Seattle, Denver, San Diego, Portland, Springfield, Reno, Topeka and more than 60 additional cities.

Additional programming featured on 25 international and national stations and networks, including CNN, CNN International, CBS Sunday Morning, CNBC, PBS News Hour with Jim Lehrer, ABC News, Weather Channel, Sundance, Bloomberg, HGTV, Fox National, Discovery, Discovery Canada, Czech TV, Darmstadt, ZDF German, Alijazeera, Xinhaua, TV Portugal, Brazilian TV and El Nuevo Dia.

(image credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt)

Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman is interviewed by David Pogue for CBS Sunday Morning on October 15, 2007. Secretary Bodman kicked off the 2007 U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on October 12 and has visited the DOE-sponsored student competition every day since.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon consists of 10 contests that center on all of the ways in which we use energy in our daily lives.

Architecture − 100 points (subjective)
Solar and energy efficiency technologies must be seamlessly integrated in the home design. A jury of professional architects evaluates three main factors: Architectural Elements, Holistic Design, and Inspiration.

Market Viability – 100 points (subjective)
Teams participating in the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon build their houses for a target market of their choosing, and then asked to demonstrate the potential of their houses to keep costs affordable within that market. The following are evaluated to determine each house's market viability: Livability, Buildability, and Marketability.

Engineering – 100 points (subjective)
The U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon Engineering contest rewards teams for their engineering excellence, as a jury of professional engineers evaluates each home for: Functionality, Efficiency, Innovation, and Reliability.

Lighting Design – 75 points (subjective)
The Lighting Design jury evaluates the following in each house: Electric Lighting Quality, Daylighting Quality, Ease of Operation, Flexibility, Energy Efficiency, and Building Integration.

Communications – 75 points (subjective)
The U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon challenges teams to communicate about the technical aspects of their homes, as well as their experiences, to a wide audience through Web sites and public open houses, with points awarded based on the teams success in delivering clear and consistent messages and images that represent the vision, process, and results of each team's project.

Comfort Zone – 100 points (objective)
For the Comfort Zone contest, teams receive full points for maintaining narrow ranges of temperature (72°F/22.2°C to 76°F/24.4°C) and relative humidity (40% to 55%) inside the houses.

Hot Water – 100 points (objective)
Teams score points in this contest by successfully completing "shower tests" over four days of the competition. The goal during these tests is to deliver 15 gallons of hot water (110°F/43.3°C) in 10 minutes or less.

Appliances – 100 points (objective)
The Appliances contest during the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon is designed to mimic the appliance use of the average U.S. home while using less energy. This includes maintaining a refrigerator and freezer at specified temperature ranges, washing and drying 10 loads of laundry, and running the dishwasher five times.

Home Entertainment – 100 points (objective)
The Home Entertainment contest is designed to demonstrate that houses powered solely by the sun can deliver more than just basic household functionality. Activities to be accommodated include hosting dinner parties for neighbours, operating a TV and computer during specified periods, and hosting a movie night

Net Metering – 150 points (objective)
In an effort to reflect how most residential solar systems operate when connected to the power grid, the 2009 U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon features a new Net Metering contest. Each team house will be equipped with a utility meter that moves in two directions. This will enable competition organizers to measure how much net energy the house produced or consumed over the course of the competition. Teams receive 100 points for producing at least as much energy as the house needs, thus achieving a net energy consumption of zero during contest week. U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon teams can receive up to 50 additional points for producing surplus energy over and above what they use during the contest week.

The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. Officially termed by the National Park Service the National Mall & Memorial Parks, the term commonly includes the areas that are officially part of West Potomac Park and Constitution Gardens to the west, and often is taken to refer to the entire area between the Lincoln Memorial and the Capitol, with the Washington Monument providing a division slightly west of the center.

The idea for the National Mall was originally conceived by Pierre Charles L'Enfant in his plans for the city of Washington, D.C., created in 1791. However, his ideas were not realized until the beginning of the 20th century, with the McMillan Commission plan, which was also inspired by the City Beautiful Movement. Among other things, the McMillan plan called for moving the main railroad station from a site on the National Mall to its present location at Union Station.

The United States Congress passed the Reserve Act in 2003 to restrict further construction on the National Mall.

Landmarks near the Mall include: The Washington Monument, The National Museums of African Art and American and Natural History, National Gallery of Art, United States Capitol Building, Ulysses S. Grant Memorial, The Smithsonian Institute, and the Vietnam War Memorial.

The Mall, in combination with the other attractions in the Washington metropolitan area, makes the nation's capital city one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. But it has uses other than as a tourist focal point. The National Mall has long served as a spot for jogging, picnics, and light recreation for the Washington population. It is also host to several annual events. Every year on July 4th, the Capitol Fourth celebration takes place at the U.S. Capitol end of the mall, with a fireworks display.

The Mall's status as a wide, open expanse at the heart of the capital makes it an attractive site for protests and rallies of all types. One notable example is the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a massive rally for African-American civil rights, at which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. The largest officially recorded rally was the Vietnam War Moratorium Rally on October 15, 1969. Vietnam War Memorial by architect Maya Lin tries to convey the magnitude of lives lost, by depicting only the names of the dead solders on 2 black reflective granite walls. The recent Presidential Inauguration was held on the Mall as well.

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