Competition – Missouri S&T Solar House Design Team

U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon^® is a collegiate competition that has inspired thousands of students worldwide to enter the clean energy workforce since its inception in 2002. Today, the 10 contests that are the foundation of Solar Decathlon challenge students to design and build high-performance, low-carbon buildings that mitigate climate change and improve our quality of life through greater affordability, resilience, and energy efficiency.

Universities from around the world submit proposals with the hope of being accepted into the competition. If accepted, the competing teams must transport their designs or houses from their hometowns to the site of the Solar Decathlon. The winners are those teams that best blend architectural and engineering excellence with innovation.

Within the Solar Decathlon, there are two challenges that teams may choose to compete in: the Design Challenge (ANNUAL), or the Build Challenge (BI-ANNUAL). To date, the Solar House Design Team has competed in seven Build Challenges and two Design Challenges.

DESIGN CHALLENGE

The Design Challenge occurs each year, with the 2021 Design Challenge being the most recent that our team has participated in. Teams that compete in the Design Challenge are instructed to create a residential or commercial building design over one or two semesters. Design Challenge teams choose to compete in one of six Divisions:

New Housing (NH)
Retrofit Housing (RH)
Attached Housing (AH)
Multifamily Building (MB)
Office Building (OB)
Educational Building (EB)

BUILD CHALLENGE

The Build Challenge occurs every other year, with the 2017 Build Challenge being the most recent that our team has competed inn. Teams that compete in the Build Challenge work over a two year period to design, build, and operate their houses in their area. Those involved in the challenge compete to earn points in the following categories: