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Title
Build Challenge
Subtitle
2002
Location
Washington, D.C.
Date Start
September 23
Date End
 - October 5, 2002

Comfort Zone

Photo of interior of house focused on overhead windows.

In the University of Colorado's house featured high-performance, operable "clerestory" windows to promote natural ventilation.

(100 points)

Space heating and cooling consume the most energy in our homes. The Comfort Zone contest challenged the 2002 Solar Decathletes to minimize the use of this energy while ensuring interior comfort.

Measured Criteria

Basic objective criteria for The Comfort Zone Contest included:

  • Maintaining specific temperature ranges within a house
  • Meeting occupant's comfort needs

Judging Criteria

Basic subjective criteria for The Comfort Zone contest included:

  • Ease of use of comfort system controls
  • Integration of system into design of house

And the Winner Was...

The University of Colorado won this contest with a total score of 84.423 points out of 100 possible points. The judges said that this team demonstrated the best integration of architectural design and engineering technology, which incorporated passive solar design strategies that minimized space conditioning energy loads.

You can learn more about the University of Colorado's home and team.