Solar Decathlon 2011

Energy Balance Contest

(100 points)

For the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011, each team house was equipped with a bidirectional utility meter that enabled competition organizers to measure the net energy a house produced or consumed over the course of the competition.

In the Energy Balance Contest, a team received full points for producing at least as much energy as its house needed, thus achieving a net energy consumption of zero during contest week. This was accomplished by balancing production and consumption.