Solar Decathlon 2015: Day 1

Fun was had by all today at the official opening of the Solar Decathlon 2015 competition at the Great Park in Irvine, CA.   The air tingled with excitement as US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz arrived with a pair of giant scissors to cut the ribbon signaling the beginning of the competition.

The Decathlon is open to the public for free (although $10 for parking, so carpool if you can) from Thursday till Sunday for the next two weeks.  More information is on the DOE website for the event at this link.

There ended up being 14x competing teams, with 6x teams dropping out for various reasons.  The teams that did make to the event have an array of wonderful houses, with few details left out.  They each strive to capture special features of their respective regions, such as the team from Missouri making a Tornado-proof house (an F5 tornado at that!), and the team from New Jersey making a hurricane proof house (i.e. Hurricane Sandy).



Another great feature is the "combination teams", with one team composed of University of Texas at Austin and a German University, and another team representing a partnership of West Virginia University and a University in Rome!  Oh la la!

And, of course, on the side of the home team, please find below the awesome-ly done marketing video for the Team OC Casa Del Sol.



Please do make some time to visit the event or volunteer.  It is on going through the next two weeks, as mentioned.  OCR will keep you up-to-date with developments and also the winners as the judging comes to a close for the competition.

I will also be back as a tour guide from 2-7 next Friday and Saturday!  See you then!

~  Adam, OCR Managing Director