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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Solar Decathlon Europe

Logo of Solar Decathlon Europe.

On Oct. 18, 2007, the Spanish and U.S. governments signed a memorandum of understanding in which the Spanish Ministry of Housing committed to organize and host Solar Decathlon Europe, a complementary competition to the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.

For more information, see the Solar Decathlon Europe Web site.

Solar Decathlon Europe 2012

The next Solar Decathlon Europe will take place Sept. 14–30, 2012, in Madrid, Spain. The participating teams are:

  • The American University in Cairo (Egypt)
  • Arts et Métiers ParisTech (France)
  • Budapest University of Technology and Economics (Hungary)
  • Chiba University (Japan)
  • Delft University of Technology (Netherlands)
  • École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Grenoble (France)
  • Hochschule Konstanz University of Applied Sciences (Germany)
  • London Metropolitan University (United Kingdom)
  • Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norway)
  • RWTH Aachen University (Germany)
  • Team Andalucía: Universidad de Sevilla, Universidad de Granada, Universidad de Malaga, and Universidad de Jaén (Spain)
  • Team Brasil: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina and Universidade de São Paulo
  • Team Bucharest 2012: “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urbanism, Politehnica University of Bucharest, and Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest (Romania)
  • Team Rome: Roma Tre University and Sapienza Università di Roma (Italy)
  • Technical University of Denmark (Denmark)
  • Tongji University (China)
  • Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera (Spain)
  • Universidad del País Vasco–Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (Spain)
  • Universidade do Porto (Portugal)
  • Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Spain).

Solar Decathlon Europe 2010

Modeled after the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C., the first Solar Decathlon Europe took place in Madrid, Spain, in June 2010. The decathletes spent 10 days competing in the Villa Solar near the Royal Palace (Palacia Real) of historic Madrid. A combination of task completion, measurement, and jury scoring determined Solar Decathlon Europe's first champion: Virginia Tech.

Solar Decathlon Europe 2010 Results

Seventeen teams from nine countries competed in Solar Decathlon Europe 2010. The final standings were:

Rank Team Point Total
1 Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University 812
2 University of Applied Sciences Rosenheim 811
3 Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences 808
4 Ecole National Supérieure d'architecture de Grenoble 794
5 Helsinki University of Technology 777
6 Bergische Universität Wuppertal 773
7 Arts et Métiers Paris Tech 763
8 University of Florida 743
9 Universidad CEU Cardenal Herrera 737
10 Fachhochschule fur Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin 729
11 Tongji 683
12 Universidad de Sevilla 678
13 Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña 668
14 Universidad de Valladolid 648
15 University of Nottingham 641
16 Tianjin University 585
17 Instituto de Arquitectura Avanzada de Cataluña 583

Solar Decathlon Europe 2010 Contests

Solar Decathlon Europe 2010 consisted of the 10 contests detailed below.

Contest Description
Architecture Assessed architectural design quality, coherence, flexibility of space, use of bioclimatic strategies, and seamless integration.
Construction and Engineering Evaluated the implementation of engineering and construction design principles with special attention to functionality, performance efficiency, safety, reliability, and technical soundness.
Solar Systems and Hot Water Evaluated the functionality, efficiency, robustness, and economic value of the solar and hot water systems.
Energy Balance Evaluated the degree of electric energy self-sufficiency and effective use of solar energy.
Comfort Conditions Assessed the capacity to provide a comfortable interior through control of temperature, humidity, acoustics, and lighting as well as the quality of interior air.
Usage Evaluated functionality as well as the efficiency of appliances by simulating the normal daily use of a contemporary house.
Communication and Social Media Assessed communication and public awareness about the possibilities and benefits of solar energy, energy efficiency, sustainable construction, and other topics relevant to Solar Decathlon Europe.
Industrialization and Market Viability Evaluated market viability, industrialization, and grouping possibilities.
Innovation Evaluated the incremental, emergent, or revolutionary changes in the house design, its systems, and its components that increase the house value or improve its performance.
Sustainability Evaluated the skill and environmental sensibility of the teams to design and construct a house with little environmental impact during its life cycle.