A 3D rendering of the new solar house.

The University of Maryland will field one of 18 teams in the second Solar Decathlon competition on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., this October.

"These future engineers and architects are some of the brightest in the world," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman of the 18 teams. "The innovative technologies the students will present demonstrate that the widespread use of renewable energy to power our homes may be closer than we may think."

The university's team is made up of more than 60 graduate and undergraduate students from the Clark School and the schools of architecture, business, landscape architecture, art and journalism. The team is led by recent Clark School graduate Rob Murray (civil engineering ’05) and faculty advisor Prof. Kay Brubaker, civil and environmental engineering.

The Solar Decathlon presents cutting edge architecture, engineering, and technology, all of which can be applied in building homes to generate their own energy, not simply consume it.

The teams will compete to see who can build and operate the best designed and most energy-efficient solar-powered home. For two years, the teams have worked on the design, research and testing necessary to construct and power these homes. Now, they must build and transport the homes to the Mall, where they will comprise a "solar village." The public can tour the homes and take away valuable information about where to find these resources and how to apply them to their existing homes or ones they will build.

The teams will compete in 10 contests that will judge architecture, livability, comfort, and power generation for heating and cooling, water heating, and powering lights and appliances. Each solar house must also power an electric car.

The University of Maryland team placed 4th in the first Solar Decathlon, held in 2002.
June 10, 2005