Solar Decathlon 2002

Getting Around

(100 points)

Typical American households use as much energy for transportation as they do to power their houses. The Getting Around Contest challenged teams to produce enough "excess" electrical energy from their solar homes to power electric vehicles. Each team used its vehicle to make daily trips similar to those made by an average household.

Measurement-Based Criteria

Objective criteria for the Getting Around Contest included:

• Providing adequate electrical energy for Ford Th!ink Neighbor electric vehicles provided by organizers
• Completing predetermined trips from their houses:
  • To grocery stores and back
  • To East Potomac Park in Washington, D.C., and back
  • Around the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and back
• Accumulating the most mileage credits

And the Winner Was...

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University won the Getting Around Contest with a perfect score of 100 points. The judges credited the team for driving the most miles in its electric vehicle.

You can learn more about the Virginia Tech home and team.