Archive for March, 2021

The U.S. Department of Energy is excited to announce the opening of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon^® Virtual Village – now live and open to the public!

The Virtual Village will showcase zero energy homes designed and constructed around the world by Solar Decathlon 2020 Build Challenge teams. Industry partners, schools, future collegiate teams, and the interested public are invited to participate in no-cost, virtual tours of the homes, hosted by participating teams.

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The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon^® announced the 63 Finalist Teams of the 2021 Design Challenge. These teams submitted detailed Design Proposals and were selected from the initial 103 Participating Teams, representing 75 collegiate institutions.

The Finalist Teams, representing 57 collegiate institutions, are competing in one of seven Divisions: Suburban Single-Family Housing, Urban Single-Family Housing, Attached Housing, Mixed-Use Multifamily Building, Elementary School, Office Building, and Retail Building.

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Mark your calendars for the next editions of Solar Decathlon! Today, the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon^® announced the launch of the 2022 Design Challenge and 2023 Build Challenge.

The 2022 Design Challenge is an annual design competition which encourages teams to develop zero energy residential and commercial designs while working with design partners to address real-world needs. Student teams will present their projects to jurors in Spring 2022 at a competition hosted by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado.

The 2023 Build Challenge is a two-year design-build competition in which collegiate teams construct zero energy homes in their own communities. After presenting their preliminary designs and progress, finalist teams will be selected at the 2022 spring event. Finalists will then go back to their communities to build their homes, undertake required measurements, and ultimately compete in a juried event in 2023.

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A 100% clean energy economy capable of battling climate change will include a strong foundation of zero energy homes—a house that can produce as much energy as it uses. Such homes don’t have to be bare-bones and uncomfortable. Quite the opposite, in fact. Student-led teams competing in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon^® Build Challenge are proving they can blend architectural design and engineering excellence with innovation, market potential, building efficiency, and smart energy production, all with the “comforts of home.”

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