First Points

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2015 competition started yesterday at 11 a.m., giving teams nine days (until 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 16) to prove they have the best house and a winning team.

The 10 Solar Decathlon contests are each worth 100 points for a total of 1,000 points. The first contest in which teams can start winning points is Contest 7: Appliances. Teams must turn on their refrigerator and freezer and keep them running consistently at specified temperatures for the entire nine days. To win the most points in Contest 7, the decathletes need to learn how to use all of their appliances (refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, cooktops, clothes washers and dryers) most efficiently.

Decathletes from the University of California, Davis, Solar Decathlon 2015 team weigh towels for the Appliances Contest after they were washed and dried in their competition house on Friday, Oct. 9. (Credit: Thomas Kelsey/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon)

Teams receive 20 points for running their refrigerator and freezer optimally for the nine days. Each hour increment is worth one-half point. It will take a while, but by Oct. 16, the points should add up to 20.

Last night, the University of Buffalo held the lead, based primarily on the use of the team’s refrigerator and freezer.

Check out the scores and standings on our website, which are updated every 15 minutes.

Richard King is the director of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.

Tags: Appliances, Competition, Contests, Solar Decathlon, Solar Decathlon 2015, UC Davis

This entry was posted on Friday, October 9th, 2015 at 7:23 pm and is filed under Appliances, Competition, Contests, Solar Decathlon, Solar Decathlon 2015, UC Davis.