The Solar Decathlon is an educational project of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Engineering

(100 points)

The Solar Decathlon Engineering contest rewards teams for their engineering excellence, as a jury of professional engineers evaluates each home for:

Functionality—Will the home's energy systems function as intended?
Efficiency—Relative to conventional systems, how much energy will the house's systems save over the course of an entire year?
Innovation—Were any unique approaches used to solve design challenges? Do the proposed 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?

Printable Version

Photo of a member of the MIT team who is wearing a yellow hard hat and installing translucent tiles into an open window frame of the MIT home.

Each home at the 2007 Solar Decathlon is engineered for a perfect fit. Here, a member of the MIT team installs blocks for a sun-facing wall made of translucent tiles that passively convert sunlight into stored heat.