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Archive for September, 2011

Clarity, Passion Score Communications Contest Win for Middlebury College

Friday, September 30, 2011

By Carol Anna

With exemplary communications materials, public tours, and website, Middlebury College received first place in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Communications Contest today.

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Correction Alters Affordability Contest Results

Friday, September 30, 2011

By Joe Simon

U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon organizers have corrected the Affordability Contest results after discovering a minor error in the scoring spreadsheet calculations.

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New Zealand Takes First in Engineering Contest

Thursday, September 29, 2011

By Carol Anna

Wowing jurors with its attention to detail, craftsmanship, and unusual energy visualization system, New Zealand (Victoria University of Wellington) received first place today in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 Engineering Contest for its First Light house.

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Solar Decathlon Data Demystification

Thursday, September 29, 2011

By Alexis Powers

How do you identify the measured contest captain on each U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon team? Listen for words such as datalogger, monitored performance subcontest, and database-driven scoring application.

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Expertise, Thoughtful Approach Define Solar Decathlon Juries

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Carol Anna

Of the 10 contests that make up the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011, five are juried:

  • Architecture
  • Engineering
  • Communications
  • Affordability
  • Market Appeal.

In juried contests, jurors who are experts in their fields evaluate each house and award points for features that cannot be measured.

“What I loved most about the Communications jurors was how thoughtful they were in their deliberations,” says Terri Jones, Communications Contest official. “It’s not just that they took their job seriously; it’s that they wanted to do it right and honor the teams’ efforts.”

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University of Maryland Wins Prestigious Architecture Contest

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

By Carol Anna

Before a packed auditorium today at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, the University of Maryland took first place in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Architecture Contest.

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Home Entertainment Contest Rewards the Hosts with the Most

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Alexis Powers

It may seem like all work all the time for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon’s student decathletes, but one contest brings teams together to earn points while relaxing and interacting with one another.

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Solar Education Days Turn the Solar Village into a Classroom

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

By Alexis Powers

The next generation of solar innovators continued to arrive by the busload to the solar village in West Potomac Park today. Between Monday, Sept. 26, and Tuesday, Sept. 27, more than 66 buses brought local eighth-grade students to learn about energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.

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Teams Prove Solar Houses Can Be Affordable

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

By Carol Anna

Note: Corrections to the Affordability Contest results were announced Sept. 30, 2011.

Proving that the cost of “going green” is decreasing, two teams tied for first place in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 Affordability Contest. Parsons The New School for Design and Stevens Institute of Technology (which includes Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy at The New School) built Empowerhouse for less than $230,000. Purdue University’s INhome came in at just less than $250,000. These teams earned 100 points for achieving a target construction cost of $250,000 or less, as evaluated by a professional cost estimator.

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25 People x 4 Days + 1 Manual = Team Belgium’s E-Cube

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

By Phil West

Like many of you, I have assembled everything from dining room tables to bunk beds with an Allen wrench and a beverage-stained set of black-and-white line drawings. I’ve even drilled new holes, convinced that the instructions had to be wrong, only to find out I had the board upside down—or inside out—or otherwise got caught up in some sort of “Tab A into Slot B” kerfuffle.

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Affordability Contest Adds New Dimension to Solar Decathlon 2011

Monday, September 26, 2011

Alexis Powers

The big buzz word in Washington, D.C., these days is budget. In the solar village at West Potomac Park, cost savings are top of mind for the decathletes as well.

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Three Cheers for Our Volunteers

Sunday, September 25, 2011

By Alexis Powers

If you’ve been to the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, chances are you’ve benefited from the guidance of a volunteer. These yellow-shirted, high-spirited individuals are strategically placed throughout the solar village to answer questions from visitors.

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It’s All About Execution Now

Sunday, September 25, 2011

We are four days into the competition, and the standings are extremely close. Normally, we would begin to see some separation, but the first- and second-place teams are just a point apart, and the total separation from top to bottom is only 20 points out of 1000. If this was a horse race, we’d need a speed camera to tell who is in the lead!

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Run, Dishwasher, Run!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

By Alexis Powers

The typical college student does about two loads of laundry a week. However, the student decathletes must go above and beyond this amount to earn full points for the Appliances Contest. In this contest, teams prove that their houses are not just energy-efficient but also fully functional.

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Choose Your Route to West Potomac Park

Saturday, September 24, 2011

By Alexis Powers

Transportation options to West Potomac Park are like energy-efficient home solutions: diverse, plentiful, and readily available.

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