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Photo of student working on equipment.

A Tuskegee University student works on her team's power conditioning equipment.

Solar Decathlon 2002

Energy Balance

(100 points)

The Energy Balance Contest challenged the 2002 Solar Decathletes to demonstrate that the sun could supply the energy needed to meet the demands of a small household and home-based business. Therefore, all electrical energy use in their homes affected this contest.

Measurement-Based Criteria

Objective criteria for the Energy Balance Contest included:

  • Using energy for daily tasks:
    • Cooking meals
    • Using appliances as required
    • Operating a TV/video player
    • Using home office computer stations
  • Meeting or exceeding energy demand requirements
  • Storing energy in an amount equal to or greater than that stored in the house battery system when the contest began

And the Winners Were...

Five teams received a perfect score-100 points-for this contest: