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Photo of two students in hard hats installing solar panels on their house's roof. One student holds the large solar panel while the other adjusts the wiring in the back of the panel. The panels already installed face up to the sun and are glossy black with white grid marks.

Harold Remlinger and Brian Eady of the Lawrence Technological University install solar panels on the roof of the team's home.

Solar Decathlon 2007

Engineering

(150 points)

The Engineering Contest awards 150 points, the second most points available. Clearly, the Solar Decathlon houses are marvels of modern engineering, and this contest "checks under the hood." The Engineering contest is evaluated on the following two categories:

  • Engineering Design and Implementation—A jury of engineers evaluates each house's building envelope, indoor environmental control, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems

  • Energy Analysis—A jury of building energy simulation experts evaluates the teams' Schematic Energy Analysis Report, Final Energy Analysis Report, and Simulation Input Form. The Energy Analysis Jury members assess the teams' use of simulation tools to inform design decisions and predict annual energy performance.