http://www.solardecathlon.org

JUST SEE!

"Charging Ahead With Solar
SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive weighs in on the state of the alternative
energy business."

....

AND THE SAMPLE OF THE HEALTHY COMPETITION! ( DO NOT NEGLECT THE VIDEOS
FROM EACH 20 UNIVERSITIES AND THE DAILY
INTERNET TREATS FOR THE REMOTE DELIGHTERS, UNLESS YOU CAN ALSO VISIT;
INTERNET VISIT  HAVE ADVANTAGED
EVEN IF THAT IS NOT HIGHT IN THE AIR CONTINENTAL DIVIDE

"Daily Journal - October 5, 2009

At 6:09 p.m. Monday, Our First Grid Connection
Team California's Refract House is the first Solar Decathlon house
ever to be connected with a microgrid. Site operations staff Byron
Stafford and Mike Coddington flipped the switch as the team looked on.
The first reading was nice and strong, registering 123 volts. Byron
and Mike then headed down the village to the Rice house, which was
second on the list for grid connection. We hope to have 11 connected
with the grid tonight.

We are three days away from being competition-ready. Before that can
happen, all the houses must pass a series of inspections not only for
competition purposes but also to ensure the safety of the students and
public. In advance of their arrival on the Mall, the houses were
inspected at their local jurisdictions. What they undergo here is a
secondary set of inspections by our event staff.

Solar Decathlon building inspectors are responsible for ensuring the
compliance of electrical and mechanical systems, eliminating potential
fire hazards, and verifying the structural integrity of the houses
before they host event visitors. Although the houses must comply with
current building codes, Inspection Officer Tom Meyers believes the
work being done by the student teams is about 10 years ahead of what
is used by today's architects, engineers, and contractors. Here are
some examples:

In the structural rafters and I-joists of Refract House, Team
California uses bamboo, an alternate material not currently in the
building code.

Team Germany incorporates a building component—drywall with phase-
change material inside—that is available in Europe but not yet seen in
the United States.

Day five was another incredibly busy day. Kudos to Team Alberta. It
has already passed multiple inspections with flying colors. Team
member Dolores Bender-Graves says the team is excited to see the house
fully assembled. Installed for the first time here in D.C., the
rundlestone parapets, a primary design feature on the north side and
roof, complement the recovered barn wood on the house's exterior.

First-time entrant Iowa State quietly made progress all weekend. "