FUTURE HOMES ARE SOLAR HOMES

Sign on MIT entry: "If it exists, it must therefore be possible." There are few things more inspiring or sadder than college students full of hope. Click through and read the (long) article for details.

Students Compete To Design Solar Homes; Full Size ‘Solar Decathlon’ Entries Populate Washington’s Mall Oct. 12 – 19
Caitlin Carpenter, October 11, 2007 (Christian Science Monitor)

WHO
20 teams from universities across the country and around the world (including MIT, NYIT, Santa Clara University, University of Colorado, as well as universities in Spain and Germany); U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

The last (2005) Solar Decathlon on the Mall.

WHAT
The third Solar Decathlon: 20 solar-powered homes will be viewed by authorities in sustainable building and the public. Judged in 10 categories.

WHEN
- Oct. 12 – 19, 2007. Winner announced October 19.
- Previously held in 2002 & 2005.

WHERE
National Mall, Washington, D.C.

WHY
- Teams build houses w/$100,000 from DOE
- The DOE has 2 goals: (1) decide the best green building practices by 2015; (2) produce electricity for 10c/kilowatt-hour.
- All houses must be 100% solar and off-grid but have enough power to charge an electric car.
- 2 major determinants of a house’s excellence: (1) electricity required to run it and (2) electrical generation capacity
- Decathlon judging categories: 1. Architecture (200 points) 2. Engineering (150 points) 3. Market Viability (150 points) – choose a target market; cost of house must be competitive with that market 4. Communications (100 points) – communicate technology and products effectively to the public 5. Comfort Zone (100 points) – maintain uniform, comfortable temperature and humidity 6. Appliances(100 points) – Clean dishes in a dishwasher for four days, cook a mealfor the judges, wash and dry a dozen towels for two days, use a TV forup to six hours a day, and run a refrigerator. 7. Hot Water (100 points) – Heat 15 gallons of hot water to 110 degrees F. in 10 minutes or less. 8. Lighting (100 points) – Must be functional, energy efficient, and aesthetically pleasing. 9. Energy Balance (100 points) – All energy must be supplied by solar power 10. GettingAround (100 points) – Electricity generated by the house's solarsystems is used to charge an electric car and drive it for as manymiles as possible.

Schematic of 2007 Penn State entry. There will be lots of dreams coming to life on the Mall next week -- unusual for D.C.

QUOTES
- James Bickford, Santa Clara (Calif.) University: "These aren't futuristic pods or anything like that…We just integrated some of the best and most efficient products out there into a house that people would actually want to live in…These houses are innovative because they're bringing all these things together – the products, the materials, the engineering, the architecture – into one integrated system that looks and operates pretty much like a normal house…It's about finding the best blend of sustainability."
- Greg Sachs, professor, US Merchant Marine Academy & 2005 participant: "Something I teach my students…is that we've been through the Industrial Age and the Information Age. Now we're entering the Age of Energy. This is going to be the defining thing for our generation: How can we power our lives and homes with something other than fossil fuels?"