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Archive for September, 2011

Clarity, Passion Score Communications Contest Win for Middlebury College

Friday, September 30, 2011

By Carol Anna

With exemplary communications materials, public tours, and website, Middlebury College received first place in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Communications Contest today.

“Middlebury College, this year’s winner of the Communications Contest, is a very authentic team that conveyed the best of New England architecture. This team’s holistic approach to communications was refreshing; they achieved in all aspects of communications—not just in one area,” said Ryan Park, director of business development for REC Solar Inc., who presented the award on behalf of the Communications Contest jurors. “This team made renewable energy technologies familiar to the public, which we believe will help people more easily embrace these technologies. And isn’t that what it’s all about?”

Appalachian State University received second place for its contagious passion and enthusiasm. The jurors felt the team offered the best menu of creatively explained ideas that visitors could take home and implement today.

Winning third place, the University of Maryland presented consistent messaging, strong educational exhibit components, and a compelling story.

The Communications contest jury evaluated:

  • Web content quality, appropriateness, and originality
  • Video walkthrough information, the accuracy of the representation of the as-built house on the competition site, accessible captioning, clarity of the audio narrative, and creativity
  • The quality of onsite graphics, photos, displays, and signage
  • The delivery of messages to target audiences and people of all abilities
  • The use of innovative methods to engage audiences, including Web site visitors and people waiting to tour a house.

“Some people might wonder why communications is included in a competition to design and build solar houses. It’s important because communication is our tool for educating the greater population about everything we’re working toward with the Solar Decathlon,” said Richard King, Solar Decathlon director. “In fact, communication is the most powerful thing you can do to spread our message across the globe. We’re not going to succeed if people don’t know what we’re doing. We’re here to show our houses and tell our story. Otherwise, there’s no reason to be here.”

For full scoring details, visit the Communications Contest scores page.

Carol Anna is the communications manager of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.

Correction Alters Affordability Contest Results

Friday, September 30, 2011

By Joe Simon

U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon organizers have corrected the Affordability Contest results after discovering a minor error in the scoring spreadsheet calculations.

Although they do not change overall competition standings, the corrected numbers have changed the outcome of the Affordability Contest, including:

  • With its E-Cube now correctly valued at $249,568.09, Team Belgium (Ghent University) moved into the tie for first place with Parsons the New School for Design and Stevens University (which includes Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy at The New School). The cost estimation of Parsons NS Stevens did not have change.
  • Unfortunately, Purdue University has moved from first into second place; the value of INhome is now estimated at $257,853.70 instead of $249,568.09.

The Southern California Institute of Architecture and California Institute of Technology cost estimate remained unchanged, and the team retained its third-place position with CHIP, valued at $262,495.11.

“The Solar Decathlon organizers want, above all, to ensure the integrity of our competition and contest results,” said Richard King, director of the Solar Decathlon. “We regret that some of the teams have been affected by this error but, in the end, feel teams can be reassured that our processes are fair.”

See the updated contest results for more information.

Joe Simon is the competition manager of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.

New Zealand Takes First in Engineering Contest

Thursday, September 29, 2011

By Carol Anna

Wowing jurors with its attention to detail, craftsmanship, and unusual energy visualization system, New Zealand (Victoria University of Wellington) received first place today in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 Engineering Contest for its First Light house.

“The New Zealand house was beautifully executed, with extreme attention to detail and craftsmanship and an intuitive tree-ring visualization system, which makes it easy to understand energy use throughout the house,” said Engineering Contest juror Dr. Hunter Fanney, chief of the building energy and environment division of the engineering laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Coming in second place, Southern California Institute of Architecture and California Institute of Technology received praise from the Engineering Jury for its forward-thinking control system with ultimate user interaction and its unique thermal envelope design that uses commercially available materials such as recycled denim.

The University of Tennessee took third place for its Living Light house, which incorporates off-the-shelf technology for heating and cooling equipment. The team also received praise for its vented double-glass façade.

According to Richard King, Solar Decathlon director, the engineering contest is very important to winning the overall competition.

“The key to winning the Solar Decathlon is getting the house to perform well in the measured contests, which account for half of the points available,” King said. “The best-performing house is a well-engineered house, which is why the Engineering Contest is so important.”

For the Engineering Contest, the jury evaluated the houses on:

  • Functionality – To ensure the energy and HVAC systems function as intended
  • Efficiency – To measure how much energy the house would save over the course of a year relative to using conventional systems
  • Innovation – To gauge the design solutions and their true market potential
  • Reliability – To assess the systems and how well they operate at a high level of performance
  • Documentation – By reviewing drawings, a project manual, and an audiovisual engineering presentation that accurately reflect the project as constructed on the competition site.

For full scoring details, visit the Engineering Contest scores page.

Carol Anna is the communications manager of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.

Solar Decathlon Data Demystification

Thursday, September 29, 2011

By Alexis Powers

How do you identify the measured contest captain on each U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon team? Listen for words such as datalogger, monitored performance subcontest, and database-driven scoring application.

These students focus on maximizing the points their teams earn in the five measured contests:

  • Comfort Zone
  • Hot Water
  • Appliances
  • Home Entertainment
  • Energy Balance.

To be successful in measured contests, the decathletes must strategize. For some measured contests, they must complete tasks such as washing a load of towels and operating a home entertainment system for a set time. A group of observers keeps detailed logs on their task performance that are later translated into scores. For other measured contests, the competition houses are equipped with sensors that measure factors such as humidity and temperature. An instrument called a datalogger keeps track of the data points and sends this information to a central database every 15 minutes.

Photo of a circuit panel section labeled “datalogger.”

The datalogger in Team New Zealand’s house is competition-ready. (Credit: Alexis Powers/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon)

“The equations in the rules define how we take information from the dataloggers and observer logs and calculate a score,” says Mike Wassmer, the scorekeeper and assistant competition manager of Solar Decathlon 2011. These algorithms translate a sea of data into a final score for each measured contest.

To follow your favorite team’s progress in the measured contests, visit the scoring pages on the Solar Decathlon website. Then tell all friends about it—and make sure to spice up your conversation with words such as observer logs and central scoring database.

Alexis Powers is a member of the Solar Decathlon communications team.

Expertise, Thoughtful Approach Define Solar Decathlon Juries

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Carol Anna

Of the 10 contests that make up the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011, five are juried:

  • Architecture
  • Engineering
  • Communications
  • Affordability
  • Market Appeal.

In juried contests, jurors who are experts in their fields evaluate each house and award points for features that cannot be measured.

“What I loved most about the Communications jurors was how thoughtful they were in their deliberations,” says Terri Jones, Communications Contest official. “It’s not just that they took their job seriously; it’s that they wanted to do it right and honor the teams’ efforts.”

Photo of a woman and two men listening to a presentation.

Communications jurors Stacy Wilson, Ryan Dings, and Mark Walhimer take notes while touring Team New York’s house. (Credit: Alexis Powers/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon)

The Communications jurors evaluated each team’s public exhibit materials, video walkthrough, and website prior to arriving in the solar village. After they arrived, they spent two days experiencing the public tours. Photos and notes helped them remember each house, team, and tour. After each tour, the jurors spent 10 minutes in the house without team members to discuss what worked, what didn’t work, and what the team could have done better. After all the tours were complete, the jurors went to a deliberation room offsite and worked together to come to a decision about the contest winners.

“Teams needed to excel in the broad spectrum of communication vehicles available in the event,” Terri says. “And that’s what the winner did.”

Juried contest announcements began Tuesday with the Affordability Contest, followed by the Architecture Contest announcement today. Winners of the Engineering Contest will be announced Thursday, Communications on Friday, and Market Appeal on Saturday during the Awards Ceremony.

Carol Anna is the communications manager of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.