University of Maryland Wins Solar Decathlon 2011!
Saturday, October 1, 2011By Carol Anna
Consistently appearing in first place in overall standings throughout the competition, the University of Maryland won the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced the competition results today before an excited audience that packed the main tent in the solar village.
“Maryland is a well-experienced team. After taking second place in 2007, they rested and regrouped in 2009 and came to West Potomac Park in 2011 focused and determined to win,” said Solar Decathlon Director Richard King. “In addition, Maryland’s Watershed is a beautiful house, judged first place in Architecture, which also performed impeccably in measured contests. This team mastered their strategies to ensure they excelled in all 10 contests.”
Purdue University took second place in the competition, and New Zealand (Victoria University of Wellington) received the third-place award.
The winner of the competition is the team that best blends affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency.
Results for the fifth and final juried contest, Market Appeal, were announced today prior to the competition winners. Middlebury College placed first.
“Self-Reliance left the jury very impressed, eclipsing our expectations across the board in livability and marketability,” said Brad Beeson, Market Appeal juror. “Middlebury College defined its market carefully—a young family of four with a modest income for the region—and demonstrated the fit for that target market with a very compelling video.”
Maryland came in second in Market Appeal, and New Zealand came in third.
The Market Appeal contest judges each house’s livability, buildability, and marketability.
For more final results, see the Solar Decathlon 2011 scores and standings.
Carol Anna is the communications manager of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon.
Tags: Competition, Contests, Market Appeal, Maryland, Middlebury College, New Zealand, Purdue, Solar Decathlon, Solar Decathlon 2011
October 1, 2011 at 3:45 pm
I spent four days at this years event. I liked the affordability goal and how most of the houses accepted that challenge. I also favored the higher scoring houses.
As a visitor to the decathlon I appreciated that the event was held off the mall which had to be a moderating factor as far a crowds was concerned. I appreciated the effort to have shuttle buses. Although the number of buses at the beginning seemed lacking things did seem to improve as the days went by.
Food and drink was the biggest problem to me. Not enough food choices and water should have been easier to get. I feel sorry for the teams. It must have been difficult for them to find food.