Nine countries compete in Spanish Solar Decathlon to find the best in solar design

Relaxnews
Thursday 24 June 2010 19:00 EDT
Comments
(2009 Solar Decathlon Europe.)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Solar Decathlon, June 18-27, involves 17 teams and nine different countries in a competition to find the best in solar housing design; vote for your favorite house online.

Solar Decathlon is a weeklong competition to see which team can build the most efficient 75 square meter solar-powered and ecologically friendly house. This year's event is being held in Madrid, Spain, the first time it has been held in Europe. The project was started in 2002 by the US department of energy and, will in the future, be held in Spain and the US on alternate years.

The competition is open to universities around the world but only a limited number of entries are accepted. This year, the completion is between 17 teams from nine different countries, China, Finland, France, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico and the USA.

Judges score each house against ten criteria including architecture, engineering, solar systems, electrical energy balance, comfort, appliances and innovation, the points are then added up and the team with the highest total is declared the winner.  The exhibition is free to visit and you can vote for your favorite house of the future online at http://www.sdeurope.org/index.htm .

The winner, by judges decision, will be announced on June 27.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in