Solar Decathlon: News from Europe ... News from DC ...

by A Siegel

The biannual Solar Decathlon, sponsored by the US Department of Energy and bringing together 20 university teams from the United States and other countries, is an amazing event that merits far more attention than the hundred or so thousand visitors and the spotty news (and blog) coverage of the event.  Truth be told, the Solar Decathlon is far from just a few week event on the Mall but encompasses years of effort from the multi-disciplinary teams developing a vision and making it a reality.  As someone who has been to all of the (US) Decathlons and had the chance to visit most (sigh, not all) of the homes, there is something quite important to note: with each Decathlon, the overall quality of the homes has improved -- significantly.  Every home had things that made it stand out.

Virginia Tech's Lumenhous' precision cut steel louvers made a statement on the Mall ... and, well, in Europe as well as it won Solar Decathlon Europe.

NOTE: Exhibit in DC for one more week on the 2011 competition ... beneath fold

continued at Daily Kos....

Solar Decathlon - Europe

by CapeTown96

One of the coolest government sponsored programs on earth is the Solar Decathlon, created by and sponsored by US Department of Energy.  Universities from around the world compete in the event with student teams designing and building zero net energy, sustainable homes for the future.

The event is so popular (and so cool) that this year Europe organized a Solar Decathlon - Europe.  

Links to US and European events below. Here are the main goals.

1. To educate the general public on renewable energy, energy efficiency and the technologies available to help them reduce their energy consumption.

2. To encourage the use of solar technologies and to distribute them more quickly to the market

3. To raise awareness of the students participating in the competition of the various benefits and possibilities of using renewable energies and energy efficient construction, challenging them to think creatively about energy and how it affects our everyday lives.

4. To clearly demonstrate that solar houses can be built without sacrificing energy efficiency or comfort, and that they can be both attractive and affordable.

continued at Daily Kos....