Photo of a person wearing a harness and hard hat on top of a roof covered in photovoltaic panels. The U.S. Capitol and the Smithsonian Castle are in the background.

U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon

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About Solar Decathlon

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Solar Decathlon 2013 will be held at Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California. (Top photo courtesy of the Orange County Great Park Corp.)

Image of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 brochure cover.

Read our brochure for an overview of Solar Decathlon 2011.

Image of the Solar Decathlon "Building the Future" brochure cover.

Building the Future. Meet just a few of the students whose lives have been changed by the Solar Decathlon.

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon is an award-winning program that challenges collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive. The winner of the competition is the team that best blends affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency.

The first Solar Decathlon was held in 2002; the competition has since occurred biennially in 2005, 2007, 2009, and 2011. The next event will take place in fall 2013 at Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California. See the tentative site map.

Open to the public free of charge, the Solar Decathlon gives visitors the opportunity to tour the houses, gather ideas to use in their own homes, and learn how energy-saving features can help them save money today.

Purpose

The Solar Decathlon:

  • Educates student participants and the public about the many cost-saving opportunities presented by clean-energy products

  • Demonstrates to the public the opportunities presented by cost-effective houses that combine energy-efficient construction and appliances with renewable energy systems that are available today

  • Provides participating students with unique training that prepares them to enter our nation's clean-energy workforce.

Impact

Since 2002, the Solar Decathlon has:

  • Involved 92 collegiate teams, which pursued multidisciplinary course curricula to study the requirements for designing and building energy-efficient, solar-powered houses

  • Established a worldwide reputation as a successful educational program and workforce development opportunity for thousands of students

  • Affected the lives of 15,000 collegiate participants

  • Expanded its outreach to K–12 students by inviting schools in the Washington, D.C., area to visit on class tours.

In 2011, the Solar Decathlon:

  • Provided more than 350,000 house visits to the public over 10 days

  • Offered 31 workshops onsite for the public and held a dedicated day of six workshops for builders and industry

  • Reached millions of readers and viewers in markets across the globe through various media.