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

Hot Water

(100 points)

The Solar Decathlon Hot Water contest demonstrates that solar hot water systems can supply all the hot water that households use daily.

Teams score points in this contest by successfully completing "shower tests" over four days of the competition. The goal during these tests is to deliver 15 gallons of hot water (110°F/43.3°C) in 10 minutes or less.

Printable Version

Close-up photograph of a portion of the fence of evacuated-tube solar thermal collectors. The tubes appear to contain hundreds of tiny blue tubes, lending an attractive color to the fence.

The University of Cincinnati team uses a fence of 120 evacuated-tube solar thermal collectors to form the outer wall of the courtyard of their 2007 home. Hot water from these collectors is used and reused to cool and heat the home and to provide domestic hot water.