What is SD?

Solar Decathlon is an international competition created by the U.S. Department of Energy. It was born in 1999, and in 2002 the first competition took place in the National Mall of Washington DC. In 2010 the competition moved to Europe, in Madrid, then in 2013 it took place in Beijing, in China and in 2014 it returned to Europe, in Versailles, France. During every edition, that has a biennial alternation, 20 selected academic teams that come from every part of the world, compete against each other in a sort of “Olympic of sustainable Architecture”.

Solar Decathlon is based on the “Seven Pillars” that are the same goals pursued by Expo 2020:
1. Sustainability
2. Future
3. Innovation
4. Clean Energy
5. Mobility
6. Smart solutions
7. Happiness

The goal is to project, build and simulate a real domestic life in a residential building that has a high energy efficiency, powered by solar energy.
A particular emphasis is given to the reduction of energy consumptions thanks to the design of energy-efficient enclosures that guarantee minimum energy dispersion, and complete self-sufficiency thanks to renewable energy systems.
The building prototypes will have to pass 10 evaluations/tests, 3 of them monitorated and 7 others evaluated by an international jury.
The three tests are energy balance, house functioning and comfort, while the other seven are architecture, engineering, communication, marketing, innovation and sustainability.

For further information about SD you can visit the official web site of Solar Decathlon