2017 Solar Decathalon

The Solar Decathalon #solardecathalon was a great success us this year in Denver. Schneider Electric has been a long-time contributor to this event with equipment, software, and employees who donate their time to help run the event. I had the honor of kicking off the closing session. 

For those of you who have not had the chance to attend, the competitors are made up of colleges from all over the world. Over a two year period they design, engineer, and build their houses on-site for the competition. All of these houses are net-zero, encompassing the latest technologies around driving energy efficiency. It is a highly competitive event with categories ranging from engineering to design and aesthetics. These kids really had their hands full with challenges this year, snow on one day, high winds on another, kind of your typical CO Fall days. 

Aside from the incredible engineering, I was blown away by the kids that participate in this event. While they are heavily focused on the competition (and keeping up with homework), they are also equally engaged with interacting with the public. Elementary kids attend this event as do builders.  

On a final note, I can’t say enough positive things about the Department of Energy for leading these sort of events. I did my graduate research at Brookhaven National Lab and cant imagine what I would be doing today without the leadership DOE. 

#lifeison