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Title
Build Challenge
Subtitle
2011
Location
Washington, D.C.
Date Start
September 23
Date End
 - October 2, 2011

Engineering Contest

Solar Decathlon 2011

(100 points)

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 houses represent the best of modern engineering. For the Engineering Contest, a jury of professional engineers evaluated each house for:

  • Functionality
    Did the house's energy and HVAC systems function as intended?

  • Efficiency
    How much energy would the house's systems save over the course of a year relative to conventional systems? Would the system controls facilitate a reduction in energy consumption during a year of operation?

  • Innovation
    Were unique approaches used to solve design challenges? Did the innovations have true market potential?

  • Reliability
    How long are the systems expected to operate at a high level of performance? How much maintenance is required to keep them operating at a high level?

  • Documentation
    Did the construction drawings, project manual, and audiovisual engineering presentation accurately reflect the constructed project as assembled on the competition site?

See the jury feedback for all teams.