Solar Decathlon Comes To D.C.

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Energy's biennial Solar Decathlon kicked off Friday, with hundreds of students from across the country -- and even a few from around the globe -- competing to create the most practical solar-powered housing.

The contest, which runs through Oct. 2, includes 19 entries to be rated by a panel of judges on 10 criteria, including aesthetics, efficiency and, most recently, cost.

Solar Decathlon Director Richard King says he hopes the newest affordability target will make high-efficiency housing accessible to a broader population and bring more parity to the contest.

"It's easy to get the latest innovation, the best windows, the best solar cells and win the contest," King told HuffPost in an interview. "But when you have to do it affordably, it's more challenging to bring that innovation and that new technology into the event."

In 2009, the winning entry cost $800,000 to replicate, King told HuffPost, but most entrants for this year's competition fall below the $250,000 price range.

While the competition's houses can be built by students and on the cheap, the process that went into making them is far from amateur. Many colleges partnered with corporate sponsors and public relations firms to maximize funding as well as outreach.

A house the product of a collaboration between Caltech and the Southern California Institute of Architecture, for instance, took two years and roughly $1 million to build. With its quilted exterior (it's cheaper to insulate from the outside) and motion-sensitive lighting, the building has much to show for the efforts.

Meanwhile Purdue University had no fewer than half a dozen tour guides standing ready to show its entry. (When HuffPost asked one where the stiffest competition would come from, she said she hadn't left the building because she was running through her lines.)

Some houses have even taken on an element of civic involvement. Empowerhouse, the entry for Washington, D.C., was designed in partnership with Habitat for Humanity and the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development. Upon completion, the house will go east of the Anacostia River to a single mother of three. The price? A crisp $250,000.

Solar decathlon video captions courtesy of Planet Forward.

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Comments

[lambdin1]

01:47 PM on 09/26/2011

Affordability. That is of course is what is needed. But an idividuals affordablility may be different than anothers! It is a subjective term. When sustainability gets down to my affordability, I'll let you know. Now most energy is too unaffordable and keeps most of us out of the market! Keep trying. You'll make it yet. Why you can not be like Europe. Do something and make it cheap for the rest of us! In today economy $250,000 is not cheap! Try improving the solar energy world. For most of us getting of the grid would be very benifical first!

[zillizli]

04:03 PM on 10/03/2011

There are more low income people than middle and upper income. If we are sincere about lowering our national energy use, we have to get low cost options for them - well under $100,000. Aggregate fuel savings from this group are what's going make the difference in the success or failure of America's energy independence.

Aging baby-boomers (age 50 and up) are heading into a serious jobless situation from today-forward as employers are unwilling to hire them, preferring younger, healthier, employees - and there are a lot of them. This group won't have the retirement savings past generations had. They can't afford to be house-poor. They need low cost housing options that cost very little to operate.

The future housing market has changed dramatically. Financing for $250,000 homes will not be easy anymore as low-income jobs are replacing middle-income jobs. Financing and demographic issues indicate we should get serious fast about low cost housing.

Architecture students usually design little box houses. It's either because they are recently emancipated from their parents and reject their traditional home styles for clean lines, the architecture profession promotes boxy modernism styles, or they don't yet have the skills to tackle style issues. Whatever the reason, most homeowners prefer traditional homes. The comments in online articles about glass box houses are usually negative as far as the style of those homes. It would be a good idea if they tried to incorporate green technology into traditionally styled homes in these competitions.

[lambdin1]

09:23 PM on 10/03/2011

Well said! Especially the last paragraph. I'm at the top of the baby-boomers. We all, young and old want affordable housing. I'm fortunate that I have mine. But I can not afford technology that will help offset payments to the ever increasing energy costs! Greed has crept in everywhere. Fuel used to be cheap. Not anymore. What are young people doing? Moving back in with their parents!

[Massconfusion]

11:50 AM on 09/26/2011

I had the pleasure of working with a group of students on a submission a couple of years back. it was a very valuable learning expirence for all concerned.

[floodberg]

01:46 PM on 09/24/2011

As someone who will hopefully be moving, I've been looking at smaller green home ideas; and I love the 'fluid' motion and colours of the TRTL (team Canada)l next fav is the Applachian State entry (an excellent, underrated school), their entry is terrific. Good luck to them!

[alteredstory]

11:50 AM on 09/24/2011

The house with external insulation is nice, as long as you don't have mice...

[Rick Huggins]

10:59 AM on 09/24/2011

It's great so many are envolved and they are extremely interesting concepts. Good luck to the Appalachian State team.

[floodberg]

01:43 PM on 09/24/2011

That was one that really caught my eye, along with the TRTL!  I'd love to see ASU take it, it's a really underrated school.

[johnfnlennon]

09:12 AM on 09/24/2011

Solar panels. The green answer to our energy problem. Capture the free and abundant energy from the sun and turn it into electricity to power our world without poilluting it. Wrong bucko. Solar panels are a big problem to make and recycle. Many extremely hazzardess pollutants are produced are used in their manufacturing process. NFC(nitrogen triflouride) has 17,000 times the potential to cause global warming than carbon dioxide. Solar panels are made with various toxic materials such as silicon,and cadmium. Google it. Do the research and ask your self: why isnt this being put out front in the open?

[ProSolarSystems]

04:20 PM on 09/25/2011

No solution is perfect; cadmium is in the thin film modules, not in these polysilicon and monosilicon panels show here. In addition, these materials can be handled properly with ISO manufacturing standards.

[johnfnlennon]

06:14 PM on 09/25/2011

You sound like the nuclear people

[WeMustDoBetter09]

08:21 AM on 09/24/2011

Inspiring! This is exciting news!
I hope some great creations come from it!
Thank you!

[dsmithsfamily]

11:43 PM on 09/23/2011

what an apethedic sociaty 3 comments. maybe if you put kardasian boobs on the door

[Aevia]

10:55 PM on 09/23/2011

I saw the Solar Decathlon 4 years ago on the Mall. I wish I were in DC now to see the update! The video walk-throughs are a great addition for those of us who can't see them first hand. It is great to see the enthusiasm and imagination of the young teams designing these homes.

[Chili Chili]

10:01 PM on 09/23/2011

I assume each entrant is required to publicly report the amount of electricity generated hour by hour and show how it would be sufficient each hour to power the basic load in an average home occupied by a family of four. (For example, with today's rain, how much power did each home generate each hour? Was it sufficient to permit typical day to day activities for a family?)

[audeo03]

08:07 PM on 09/23/2011

Hope the sun comes out! Prediction is for rain through at least Tuesday here in the DMV...