The Solar Decathlon challenges collegiate students from around the world to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are affordable, highly energy efficient, attractive, and easy to live in. The competition shows consumers how to save money and energy with affordable clean energy products that are available today. The nearly two-year project culminated in a display of affordable green living and design on the National Mall’s West Potomac Park in Washington D.C. from September 23 – October 2, 2011.
All teams competed in ten contests over ten days that gauged each house’s performance, livability, and affordability. The teams performed everyday tasks, including cooking, laundry, and washing dishes, that tested the energy efficiency of their houses. After all contest results were tallied, Maryland earned 951.151 points out of a possible 1,000 to win the competition, followed by Purdue with 931.390 points, and New Zealand with 919.058 points.
The results of the Market Appeal Contest also were announced, with Middlebury College taking first place by scoring 95 out of 100 possible points. The Market Appeal Contest evaluates the livability of each house and its appeal within the housing market. The University of Maryland placed second in Market Appeal, scoring 94 points, which helped solidify their lead in the overall competition. New Zealand placed third in Market Appeal, scoring 93 points in the contest, which helped propel them from fourth place overall into third place in the final competition.
Student teams in the 2011 competition hailed from five countries across four continents, including the United States, Belgium, Canada, China and New Zealand. The application process for the sixth U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, to be held in fall 2013, has already begun with applications available online for collegiate teams.
The video below provides a walk-through of the winning house, which is named WaterShed.
Transcript
00:00:06 The Chesapeake Bay. The largest estuary in the United States. Home to more than 3,600 plant, fish, and animal species. The Chesapeake Bay watershed is also home to more than 16.6 million people. Runoff from cities, towns, power plants, and farms contains nutrients and chemicals that adversely impact the subtle ecological balance of the bay. At the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon 2011, the University of Maryland will introduce a home that not only harvests its energy from the sun but also demonstrates ways in which houses can be designed to help protect our precious water resources. Inspired by its namesake, WaterShed is a micro-scale ecosystem functioning in harmony with the surrounding landscape. The house is designed to promote a sustainable lifestyle.
00:01:15 WaterShed is organized around a central water axis. The green roof, constructed wetlands, and native landscaping store and filter rain and grey water. This processed water can be reused for irrigation or released slowly back into the landscape. These systems are integral to WaterShed and subtly remind its residents of the natural processes that surround them. WaterShed's split-butterfly form directs rain to the constructed wetlands. Each shed form is an independent module. The bathroom which connects them is both a part of the water axis and a bridge between the two modules. Form and function are essential to maximize the potential of a great living space. WaterShed uses an open floor plan while still maintaining distinct spaces to integrate living, working, and playing seamlessly. Mechanical, electrical, and automated control
00:02:25 systems are literally at the core of WaterShed’s design. Each of the various systems within the house is designed to function collaboratively, effectively, and efficiently. WaterShed is a house as ecosystem, an answer to today's many questions about how to build a more sustainable future. Through a holistic design with integrated architecture, engineering, and living systems, WaterShed suits the needs of nature and humans and preserves resources downstream.
