German Uni Wins Solar Decathalon

Congratulations to the Technische Universität Darmstadt for winning First Prize in the Department of Energy's Solar Decathalon, beating out major US universities. The DOE Web site announced the award as follows:

"This team from Germany came to the Solar Decathlon hoping to have an impact on people, and it's safe to say that this happened. Darmstadt won the Architecture, Lighting, and Engineering contests. The Architecture Jury said the house pushed the envelope on all levels and is the type of house they came to the Decathlon hoping to see. The Lighting Jury loved the way this house glows at night. The Engineering Jury gave this team an innovation score that was as high as you could go, and said nobody did the integration of the PV system any better. Darmstadt was one of seven teams to score a perfect 100 points in the Energy Balance contest. All week, long lines of people waited to get into this house."

Some great photographs of the house - interior and exterior - can be seen here.  I especially like the night photo. The Digital Journal notes Germany's leadership in solar power innovation:

Germany may be one of Europe's least sunny countries.

But when it comes to solar power, the country has been out in front - giving financial incentives to residents who generate their own power, producing some of the world's most sought-after solar cells, and now, designing the best solar house in an international university competition sponsored by the US government.

The team from the Technical University of Darmstadt Friday took the top award of the Solar Decathlon, which this year drew projects from 20 universities in the US, Spain, Germany, Puerto Rico and Canada.

The goal was to build a house that would produce more energy than it could use, and the results were displayed on the National Mall, overlooked by the US Capitol dome and flanked by some of the world's most famous museums.

Comments

[erphschwester]

danke für die veröffentlichung. nicht nur, weil ich als beinahe-darmstädterin auf "unsere" studenten stolz bin, sondern weil es mir bislang nicht gelungen war, halbwegs vernünftige fotos aufzutreiben.