Team Germany wins Solar Decathlon with Cube House

At the Solar Decathlon held this year at the National Mall in Washington D.C., Team Germany was declared the big winner, followed by Team Illinois, and then Team California. The winners were declared on October 16 and announced by DOE Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman at the National Mall.

Team Germany, comprised of students from Darmstadt, can now boast two wins as this same group won the Solar Decathlon held back in 2007. The team won for operating the most solar efficient home, known as the “Cube House” . The “Cube House”  retained a surplus of electricity even with three days of straight rain throughout the two-week long contest. The decathlon consisted of 20 different teams from all over the world including Spain, Germany, and Canada, as well as from within the United States.

The decathlon consisted of ten contests all of which challenged the teams’ projects on design, performance, and functionality. Of the ten competitions of the decathlon, Team Germany’s solar surplus earned them the Net Metering award, which, at 150 points, was by far the largest competition of the decathlon. The Germans also won the Comfort Zone award, which at 100 points shot them to the top of the competition.

The Solar Decathlon ran for two weeks and was open to the public to view each stage of the competition. This year the decathlon ended on Sunday, October 18. At the close of the competition each teams’ homes were shipped back to their home country. The Solar Decathlon is held every other year, and the next one to be held will be in 2011. Although the 2009 decathlon just wrapped up, the organization is already accepting applications for the next contest two years from now.