Solar Decathlon Blog - Awards

Competitors Represent the Next Generation of Energy-Savvy Architects and Engineers Who Will Build Our Clean Energy Future

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm yesterday joined college students from around the world to announce the winners of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Decathlon—a collegiate competition that challenges the next generation of building professionals to design and construct high-performance, low-carbon buildings powered by renewable energy. The 72 competing teams representing 12 countries designed resilient and energy-efficient, homes, schools, offices, and retail spaces; nine of which were constructed and presented in the first-ever Solar Decathlon Virtual Village on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Watch Sunday’s awards ceremony and Secretary Granholm’s remarks HERE.

“Our fight against the climate crisis is a lot like a decathlon, with all kinds of individual contests we need to get through—and we can’t win unless we do well in them all,” said Secretary Granholm. “Today’s decathletes are tomorrow’s architects and engineers who are going to help us achieve President Biden’s ambitious and achievable clean energy goals and build our net-zero future. I can’t wait to see their big ideas come to life in neighborhoods across the country and around the world.”

According to DOE analysis, today buildings account for approximately 74% of electricity use, 39% of total energy use, and 35% of carbon emissions in the United States. There are more than 125 million buildings in the nation that need to be retrofitted in order to achieve the Administration’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050—which President Biden’s American Jobs Plan proposes to address. The Solar Decathlon supports a key strategy to bring that vision to life, by building a pipeline of energy-savvy workers who are prepared for millions of future jobs in design, construction, retrofitting, weatherization, and more.

The full list of the winners of the 2020 Build Challenge and 2021 Design Challenge is below:

2020 Build Challenge Overall Winners

• 1^st Place, University of Colorado (Boulder, Colorado)
• 2^nd Place, University of Waterloo (Waterloo, Ontario)
• 3^rd Place, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (Las Vegas, Nevada)

2021 Design Challenge Grand Winners

• Commercial Divisions, University of Oregon (Eugene, Oregon)
• Residential Divisions, Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois)

2020 Build Challenge Contest Winners

Energy Performance

• 1^st Place, Weber State University (Ogden, Utah)
• 2^nd Place (tie)
  • University of Colorado (Boulder, Colorado)
  • University of Nevada, Las Vegas (Las Vegas, Nevada)
• 3^rd Place, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana (Champaign County, Illinois)

Engineering

• 1^st Place, Hogeschool Utrecht University of Applied Sciences Utrecht (Utrecht, Netherlands)
• 2^nd Place, University of Colorado (Boulder, Colorado)
• 3^rd Place, Weber State University (Ogden, Utah)

Financial Feasibility & Affordability

• 1^st Place, University of Waterloo (Waterloo, Ontario)
• 2^nd Place, University of Colorado (Boulder, Colorado)
• 3^rd Place, Kansas State University (Manhattan, Kansas)

Resilience

• 1^st Place, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María (Valparaíso, Chile)
• 2^nd Place, University of Waterloo (Waterloo, Ontario)
• 3^rd Place, University of Colorado (Boulder, Colorado)

Architecture

• 1^st Place, University of Colorado (Boulder, Colorado)
• 2^nd Place, Hogeschool Utrecht University of Applied Sciences Utrecht (Utrecht, Netherlands)
• 3^rd Place, Kansas State University (Manhattan, Kansas)

Operations

• 1^st Place, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (Las Vegas, Nevada)
• 2^nd Place, University of Colorado (Boulder, Colorado)
• 3^rd Place, Hogeschool Utrecht University of Applied Sciences Utrecht (Utrecht, Netherlands)

Market Potential

• 1^st Place, University of Colorado (Boulder, Colorado)
• 2^nd Place, Kansas State University (Manhattan, Kansas)
• 3^rd Place, University of Waterloo (Waterloo, Ontario)

Comfort & Environmental Quality

• 1^st Place, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana (Champaign County, Illinois)
• 2^nd Place, University of Waterloo (Waterloo, Ontario)
• 3^rd Place, University of Colorado (Boulder, Colorado)

Innovation

• 1^st Place, University of Colorado (Boulder, Colorado)
• 2^nd Place, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (Las Vegas, Nevada)
• 3^rd Place (tie)
  • University of Waterloo (Waterloo, Ontario)
  • Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María (Valparaíso, Chile)

Presentation

• 1^st Place, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (Las Vegas, Nevada)
• 2^nd Place, Weber State University (Ogden, Utah)
• 3^rd Place, University of Colorado (Boulder, Colorado)

2021 Design Challenge Division Winners

Suburban Single-Family Housing Division

• 1^st place, Ferris State University (Big Rapids, Michigan)
• 2^nd place, Missouri University of Science and Technology (Rolla, Missouri)
• 3^rd place, Appalachian State University (Boone, North Carolina)

Urban Single-Family Housing Division

• 1^st place, Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois)
• 2^nd place, The University of Arizona (Tucson, Arizona)
• 3^rd place, Ball State University (Muncie, Indiana)

Attached Housing Division

• 1^st place, Marywood University (Scranton, Pennsylvania)
• 2^nd place, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (Mumbai, India)
• 3^rd place, Monash University (Melbourne, Australia)

Mixed-Use Multifamily Building Division

• 1^st place, The University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada)
• 2^nd place, The University of Arizona (Tucson, Arizona)
• 3^rd place, University of Missouri-Columbia (Columbia, Missouri)

Elementary School Division

• 1^st place, University of Oregon (Eugene, Oregon)
• 2^nd place, Ryerson University (Toronto, Canada)
• 3^rd place, Ball State University (Muncie, Indiana)

Office Building Division

• 1^st place, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Blacksburg, Virginia)
• 2^nd place, Ryerson University (Toronto, Canada)
• 3^rd place, Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts)

Retail Building Division

• 1^st place, Illinois Institute of Technology (Chicago, Illinois)
• 2^nd place, Thomas Jefferson University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
• 3^rd place, Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology (India)

About the Solar Decathlon

The Solar Decathlon is a collegiate competition that challenges the next generation of building professionals to design and construct high-performance, low-carbon buildings powered by renewable energy, while promoting student innovation, STEM education, and workforce development opportunities in the buildings industry. Since 2002, more than 20,000 students have participated in the Solar Decathlon, many of whom have gone on to become architects, engineers, and researchers. This year’s competition marks the 19th anniversary of the Solar Decathlon.

The Design Challenge is a one- to two-semester, design-only competition, while the Build Challenge is a two-year design-build competition.

Applications for the Solar Decathlon 2022 Design Challenge and 2023 Build Challenge will open this summer. Additional details are available on the Solar Decathlon website.

By Stacy Hunt

In late September, I found myself in a futuristic eco-village outside of Ben Guerir, Morocco, six time zones away from home. As a juror for the Communications and Social Awareness Contest in the first-ever Solar Decathlon Africa, I had some tough decisions ahead of me.

This wasn’t my first rodeo. I was a juror for Solar Decathlon Europe in Szentendre, Hungary; I’ve attended several U.S. competitions, and I have worked with the U.S. organizing team since 2013.

But as soon as I stepped onto the site, Solar Decathlon Africa felt different. The energy of the students, and their region-, craft-, and culture-specific solutions were somehow more robust than what I’ve seen on the whole in other Solar Decathlons.

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Collegiate teams have only two more weeks to apply for the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon^® 2020 Design Challenge. Solar Decathlon gives teams an opportunity to showcase their creativity, ingenuity, and passion for designing highly efficient and innovative buildings. Teams must apply by Tuesday, November 5, 2019, at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. (more…)

The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University team was victorious as the Grand Winner at the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon^® Design Challenge Weekend. The event was held on April 12–14, 2019, at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, and included 45 finalist teams, representing 37 collegiate institutions, across the United States and other countries.

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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is excited to announce the prize amounts for the Solar Decathlon 2020 Build Challenge. Solar Decathlon Build Challenge teams work during a two-year period to design and build complete houses that incorporate state-of-the-art energy and building design practices and technologies. DOE will select up to 12 finalist teams across the Local Build and National Showcase Divisions. All finalist teams that meet Solar Decathlon Build Challenge requirements will receive prize funds to assist in defraying their costs. Funds will be provided at various points during the two-year period pending completion of specific deliverables and requirements.

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This article was originally published on the blog of Aurora Solar, a solar design and sales software company.

By Andrew Gong

Two weeks ago, during the Solar Decathlon 2017 competition, we explored the solar powered house designs from participating university teams. The designs showcased many creative and resourceful design strategies—and presented a fun challenge for modeling in Aurora.

With the competition now complete, today’s post takes a closer look at the top three teams to identify some of the solar design lessons from their success.

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By Ruby Theresa Nahan

If you read our They Build Through Rain, Sleet, Snow or Hail blog post, you’ll know that weather is officially Solar Decathlon’s unofficial 11^th contest. And we pretty much had it all—rain, sleet, snow, wind, and lots and lots of mud. It was the first time Solar Decathlon has ever seen snow, and good news—no hail! For the Weather Contest, we’re happy to report an 11-way tie. All 11 teams completed their houses, opened to the public, and participated in the competition.

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By Alexis Powers

Time flies when you’re having fun. It also warps when you are working hard. Here in the Solar Decathlon village, it’s been an absolute whirlwind of both ever since assembly began three weeks ago.

Today’s Solar Decathlon Minute packs one of the competition’s most exciting days into just 110 seconds. If that feels too fast to you, then check out the other 10 Minutes we’ve posted on our YouTube channel during the 2017 event. You’ll see highlights from each house, updates on each day’s activities, and even a dancing toilet.

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Prestigious Energy Competition Open for Final Weekend

DENVER, CO – Acting Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Daniel Simmons today announced the winning team of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Decathlon 2017 in Denver, Colorado. The Swiss Team took first place overall by designing, building, and operating the house that best blended smart energy production with innovation, market potential, and energy and water efficiency. The University of Maryland took second place followed by the University of California, Berkeley and University of Denver team in third place.

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By Ruby Theresa Nahan

The Swiss Team cleaned up today as they took first place in both the Architecture and Water Contests with their NeighborHub competition house.

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Stevens Institute of Technology won top honors overall at the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2015 by designing, building, and operating the most cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive solar powered house.

University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, took second place followed by California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, in third place. (more…)

At the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2015, Stevens Institute of Technology holds the lead after placing first in Market Appeal, Architecture, and Communications.

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Congratulations to Team Rhome from Universitá Degli Studi di Roma TRE, the winner of Solar Decathlon Europe 2014! The team’s Rhome for Dencity house received first place overall in the final award ceremony of the competition Saturday evening in Versailles, France.

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The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2013 won first place in the special events category in the National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC) Blue Pencil and Gold Screen Awards Competition. The award was announced last week during a reception and banquet at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

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The Norwich University Solar Decathlon 2013 team received the Byron Stafford Award of Distinction at the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2013 Victory Reception on Oct. 12.Presented by Solar Decathlon Director Richard King’s wife, Melissa, the award is a tribute to Byron Stafford, who served as the event’s site operations manager from the first Solar Decathlon in 2002 until his death in May. A National Renewable Energy Laboratory senior scientist, Stafford was instrumental in formulating the competition rules and was dedicated to ensuring a safe competition and public exhibit. In 2009, his team installed the first Solar Decathlon village microgrid to distribute energy safely and reliably among the competition houses and to the utility grid.

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