Press Releases

U.S. Green Building Council takes part in Solar Decathlon 2007

Student teams compete to design, build and operate homes powered only by solar power

 

October 12, 2007 (Washington, DC) - The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is participating as one of the title sponsors for the 2007 Solar Decathlon. The international competition, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is taking place October 12- 20, 2007 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Twenty teams, consisting of students from colleges and universities around the world, are participating in the competition to design, build, and operate energy-efficient homes that are entirely solar-powered. The USGBC is proud to share the organization’s experience and expertise as the developers of the LEED® green building rating system with the dedicated student builders in this year’s competition.

USGBC will bring its consensus-developed best practices and technical expertise in high-performance green homebuilding to the event and the teams. USGBC local chapter members will be part of an “Ask the Experts” group that is available to Solar Decathlon attendees. USGBC will also help identify judges for the competition, distribute copies of the LEED for Homes rating system to all student participants, present an award to the team that attains the most points as per LEED for Homes criteria, and host a presentation by the winning team at the Greenbuild International Conference & Expo 2007, which will take place in Chicago, IL.

As part of the Solar Decathlon, 20 teams will compete in 10 contests to determine an overall winner of the competition, which will be awarded by DOE. With an eye on energy efficiency, the student will carefully choose the systems, products, and appliances used in their solar-powered houses. The houses will be on display in the "solar village," and will be open for public tours 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. weekends and 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. weekdays, except Wednesday, October 17, when the houses will be closed for competition purposes.

For more information about the Solar Decathlon, visit www.solardecathlon.org. Also, USGBC, along with Newland Communities, will be launching a consumer residential Web site directly following the conclusion of the Solar Decathlon. Visit www.greenhomeguide.org for tips, ideas and green home building and renovation information.

About USGBC
The U.S. Green Building Council is the nation's leading nonprofit composed of corporations, builders, universities, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations working together to transform the way buildings are designed, built and operated. Green buildings are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work. Since its founding in 1993, the Council has grown to more than 11,000 member companies and organizations, a broad portfolio of LEED® green building products and services, the industry's popular Greenbuild International Conference and Expo (www.greenbuildexpo.org) and a network of over 70 local chapters, affiliates and organizing groups.

About LEED for Homes
LEED for Homes is a green home rating system developed through consensus by the U.S. Green Building Council to ensure that homes are designed and built to be energy- and resource-efficient and healthy for occupants. LEED can be applied to single- and multi-family homes and is intended for both market-rate and affordable housing. USGBC originally developed the LEED green building rating system in 2000 for new commercial construction and began the pilot test of LEED for Homes in August 2005. There are currently over 8,200 homes across the U.S. involved in the LEED for Homes pilot program and more than 265 that have already been LEED certified as green homes. The LEED for Homes pilot test will conclude this fall and USGBC will launch the rating system nationally at its Greenbuild International Conference & Expo on November 7, 2007.