At the 2007 Solar Decathlon, Martin Dupuis (project manager for Team Montreal) gives a pep talk to his cohorts prior to an early showing of their Lumen/Essense solar house.

Photo courtesy Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon

A pair of Canadian squads will be competing in the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) fourth Solar Decathlon next year. The biennial event pits 20 university-led teams from the United States, Canada, and Germany in designing, building, and operating a solar-powered home.

A Calgary-based contingent includes members from the University of Calgary, SAIT Polytechnic, and Mount Royal College; the other Canadian team comprises participants from Ontario's University of Waterloo and Ryerson University, and Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C.

While each team is given $100,000 from DOE, they are responsible for raising the rest of the funds. This includes the cost of transporting the home to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., where a ‘solar village' is erected for judging based on 10 areas, including architecture, engineering, comfort, and market viability.

Designs must produce sufficient energy to perform all traditional functions of a 74.3-m2 (800-sf) home, from operating the lights and kitchen appliances to hot-water showers and laundry. Further, there must be enough surplus energy to power an electric car.

According to U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman, the purpose of the competition is to continually spur building technology.

“The Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon is more than a student project,” he said. “These creative teams will develop livable, working, energy-efficient, and marketable home designs powered by cutting edge, currently available solar energy technology.”

In 2007, Germany's Technische Universistät Darmstadt won the competition; the University of Colorado took home the honours in 2002 and 2005.