Skip to main content
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • YouTube
  • Newsletter
  • Google+

Solar Decathlon Blog - Design Challenge

Below you will find Solar Decathlon news from the Design Challenge archive, sorted by date.

40 Collegiate Teams Advance to Solar Decathlon 2024 Design Challenge

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Forty teams from 37 collegiate institutions are advancing to the final stage of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Decathlon® 2024 Design Challenge based on their cutting-edge, zero energy building designs.

(more…)

Leading the Charge—105 Solar Decathlon Teams Tackle Zero Energy Building Designs

Wednesday, November 1, 2023

a work map showing the participating teams

105 teams from 93 collegiate institutions are leading the charge on tackling climate change by designing high-performance, zero energy buildings as part of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® 2024 Design Challenge.

(more…)

One Week Left to Register for the Solar Decathlon 2024 Design Challenge!

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

One Week Left to Register for the Solar Decathlon 2024 Design Challenge!

Students and faculty from the 2023 Design Challenge Howard University team pose with their trophy. (Photo by Vern Slocum, NREL)

Students and faculty from the 2023 Design Challenge Howard University team pose with their trophy. (Photo by Vern Slocum, NREL)

Only one week is left to register for the 2024 Design Challenge with the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon®! 

The Design Challenge is an annual collegiate competition challenging interdisciplinary teams to create zero energy building designs that address real-world issues such as climate resilienceembodied carbonexisting building retrofits, and community impact.  

(more…)

Join the Design Challenge Kickoff Webinar—9/5/23, 1 p.m. EDT

Thursday, August 31, 2023

a group of students jumping for a team photo

Kick Off Your 2024 Design Challenge with the Competition Organizers!

Thinking about joining the 2024 Design Challenge?

Jump into your U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® competition experience at the Kickoff Webinar!

Join us on Tuesday, September 5, 2023, at 1 p.m. EDT to hear about:

  • Design Challenge changes for 2024, including new division breakdowns and the 10 updated contests.
  • Mentor program opportunities for alumni and current teams.
  • Competition timelines, including the semifinal and final events.
  • And more…

Add the Sept. 5 Kickoff Webinar to your calendar today!

(more…)

Calling the Next Sustainable Building Professionals—Register for the Solar Decathlon 2024 Design Challenge

Wednesday, August 16, 2023

Are you a student or professor interested in transforming buildings to tackle the climate crisis?

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® is seeking collegiate student participants from diverse majors to join the next round of the zero energy building design competition. Students from collegiate institutions in the United States and around the world are encouraged to form interdisciplinary teams and register!

(more…)

Calling the Next Generation of Sustainable Building Professionals—Solar Decathlon Announces 2024 Design Challenge

Thursday, June 22, 2023

Several students and faculty pose with scale models of their sustainable building designs.

Solar Decathlon 2023 Design Challenge teams showcase models of their sustainable building designs during the Competition Event at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Photo by Vern Slocum, NREL.

Are you a collegiate student interested in transforming buildings to serve communities and the planet? The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® is seeking student participants from diverse majors to join the next round of the zero-energy building design competition.

The Design Challenge is an annual design competition challenging interdisciplinary teams of collegiate students to create high-performance, low-carbon building designs that address real-world issues related to climate resilience, affordability, and environmental justice.

(more…)

DOE Announces 21st Annual Solar Decathlon Winners

Monday, April 24, 2023

Ball State University, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, and The Cooper Union Named 2023 Build and Design Challenge Winners

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the winners of the 21st annual Solar Decathlon®, DOE’s longest-running student competition. The annual collegiate contest 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. Ball State University, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, and The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art won the top honors at this year’s competition and were announced at the Solar Decathlon Competition Event at DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado yesterday.
(more…)

Fifty-Seven Teams Advance to Solar Decathlon 2023 Design Challenge Final

Monday, February 27, 2023

Renderings from a selection of Solar Decathlon 2023 Design Challenge finalist teams.

Renderings from a selection of Solar Decathlon 2023 Design Challenge finalist teams.
Graphic by NREL

Fifty-seven teams from 63 collegiate institutions have earned a spot in the final stage of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® 2023 Design Challenge.

“Solar Decathlon has pioneered energy efficient building designs for more than two decades; this year’s finalist teams showed there is always room to push the envelope on zero energy buildings,” said Rachel Romero, Design Challenge competition manager.

Finalist teams were selected at the Semifinal Competition Event, held virtually February 24–25, 2023.  Teams presented their zero energy building designs to a panel of industry experts and finalists were selected based on their innovations, technical plans, and the quality of their presentations.

The competition includes residential and commercial designs in six different divisions: New Housing, Retrofit Housing, Attached Housing, Multifamily Building, Office Building, and Education Building. Up to 10 teams were selected in each of the contest divisions.

Finalist teams will compete to win their division, and possibly become one of two overall grand winners, at the hybrid Solar Decathlon Competition Event, April 20–23, 2023, in Golden, Colorado, at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The event will also include virtual participation options, networking sessions, and the announcement of the 2023 Build Challenge winners.

“As the premier sponsor for Solar Decathlon this year, we are thrilled to honor the finalist teams in the Design Challenge,” said Deb Cloutier, chief sustainability officer at Legence. “The experience students gain during this program is foundational to the design of energy-efficient and sustainable buildings in real life—some of our best engineers today are Solar Decathlon graduates.”

Join the awards ceremony livestream on April 23, 2023, 10 a.m. EDT, to see which finalist teams earn the grand prizes this year!

2023 Design Challenge finalist teams by division:

New Housing Division

  • Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina
  • Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec
  • Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom
  • Monash University, Clayton, Australia
  • The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
  • The University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire
  • University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
  • University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
  • University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario
  • Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston, Massachusetts

Retrofit Housing Division

  • Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina
  • Ferris State University, Big Rapids, Michigan
  • Howard University, Washington, D.C.
  • Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois
  • Marywood University, Scranton, Pennsylvania; Johnson College, Scranton, Pennsylvania
  • The University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma
  • Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario

Attached Housing Division

  • Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina
  • Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas; Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, Hanoi, Vietnam
  • The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
  • The University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, British Columbia; Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia
  • Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Ontario
  • University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
  • University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri
  • University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, Tennessee
  • Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston, Massachusetts

Multifamily Building Division

  • Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario
  • Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec
  • Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois
  • Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
  • State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, New York; Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York
  • Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, Ontario
  • University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
  • University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California
  • University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Alexandria, Virginia

Office Building Division

  • Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana
  • Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec
  • Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, Illinois
  • Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India
  • Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, Rupnagar, India
  • Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
  • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois
  • Monash University, Clayton, Australia
  • University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston, Massachusetts

Education Building Division

  • Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana
  • Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec
  • Howard University, Washington, D.C.
  • Myongji University, Seoul, South Korea
  • Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
  • Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma
  • The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York City, New York
  • The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia; British Columbia Institute of Technology, Burnaby, British Columbia
  • University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
  • University of North Texas, Denton, Texas; Al Hussein Technical University, Amman, Jordan

Ready, Set, Go! 120+ Teams to Compete in the Solar Decathlon 2023 Design Challenge

Wednesday, November 9, 2022

Map showing 97 collegiate institutions with 124 total teams are participating in the Solar Decathlon 2023 Design Challenge.

97 collegiate institutions with 124 total teams are participating in the Solar Decathlon 2023 Design Challenge.

(more…)

Build Your Team! Solar Decathlon 2023 Design Challenge Opens Registration

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

Students participating in the 2022 Design Challenge and 2023 Build Challenge pose on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory campus during the Solar Decathlon 2022 Competition Event, April 22–24, 2022.

Students participating in the 2022 Design Challenge and 2023 Build Challenge pose on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory campus during the Solar Decathlon 2022 Competition Event, April 22–24, 2022.

Want to design a zero-energy building while still in school? Register now and form a 2023 Design Challenge team to develop sustainable building expertise and tackle real-world problems through the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® collegiate competition.

(more…)

DOE Celebrates 20th Annual Solar Decathlon for Next-Generation Clean Energy Buildings

Monday, April 25, 2022

2022 Design Challenge Grand Winners - Georgia Tech

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the winners of the 20th annual Solar Decathlon®, DOE’s longest-tenured student competition that has challenged 40,000 students across the world to use the latest technologies to design and build the most sustainable buildings possible. Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Arizona won this year’s Design Challenge for residential and commercial building grand prizes, respectively.

(more…)

20 Years and Beyond—Solar Decathlon Announces 2023 Design Challenge

Monday, April 11, 2022

Students participating in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® 2022 Design Challenge pose during the virtual Semifinal Competition Event in February 2022. Photo courtesy of NREL.

Students participating in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® 2022 Design Challenge pose during the virtual Semifinal Competition Event in February 2022. Photo courtesy of NREL.

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® announced the launch of the 2023 Design Challenge. The 2023 Design Challenge will help usher in the third decade of the Solar Decathlon, which continues to build the future clean energy workforce.

Students from collegiate institutions in the United States and around the world are encouraged to imagine the buildings of the future and apply!

Team registration for the 2023 Design Challenge will open in July 2022 and close in October 2022; the next chance to join the Build Challenge will be in 2023. Mark your calendars and start gathering your team today!

About the Solar Decathlon  

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® is a collegiate competition that prepares the next generation of building professionals to design and build high-performance, low-carbon buildings powered by renewables. The Design Challenge is a one- to two-semester, design-only competition, while the Build Challenge is a two-year design-build competition.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2022, the Solar Decathlon has challenged more than 25,000 students to create efficient, affordable buildings powered by renewables, while promoting student innovation, STEM education, and workforce development opportunities in the buildings industry.

Buildings account for 75% of electricity use, 40% of total energy use, and 35% of carbon emissions in the United States. Solar Decathlon supports a key strategy for tackling climate challenges: developing a workforce that is equipped to design and construct a low-carbon building stock and deliver an equitable clean energy future.

Additional details are available on the Solar Decathlon website.

Fifty-Five Solar Decathlon Design Challenge Teams Advance as Finalists

Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Fifty-five teams representing 38 universities are advancing as finalists in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® 2022 Design Challenge.

Finalist teams were chosen based on presentations and design submissions at the semifinal competition event, held virtually February 25–26, 2022. During this event, teams pitched their unique building designs, impressing industry expert jurors with their creativity and ability to tackle the most difficult issues in the built environment.

(more…)

Andrea Lin is #SDLivingTheDream: Learning the Collaborative Nature of Sustainable Design

Monday, October 25, 2021

Name: Andrea Lin

Year participated in Solar Decathlon: 2021

University team: Northwestern University

Current organization / employer: Kipnis Architecture + Planning

Current role: Architectural Intern

How did participation in the Solar Decathlon affect the trajectory of your career?

My experience in Solar Decathlon brought me the confidence in changing my career path towards one that interests me. In my third year of university, I was exploring architecture classes and began learning about the design process and high-performance buildings. However, most of the work for these classes was done as individuals so the scope of work was focused mostly on the architectural function and aesthetic. Solar Decathlon exposed me to the interdisciplinary and collaborative nature of sustainable design, which has helped me adapt my experiences to my interests.

(more…)

Nupoor Kansara is #SDLivingtheDream:
Fueling a passion for sustainable design

Monday, August 16, 2021

Name: Nupoor Kansara

Year participated in Solar Decathlon: 2020

University team: Illinois Institute of Technology

Current organization / employer: Baumann Consulting

Current role: Energy and commissioning engineer (more…)

Archives

Categories

Entries (RSS) | Comments (RSS)