AIA -WJ 2011 Solar Decathlon Trip

AIA West Jersey hosted a trip to the National Mall’s West Potomac Park in Washington, DC on Saturday October 1^st.  Twenty AIA members from West Jersey, South, Shore and Newark/Suburban along with spouses and friends made the trip to the site of this year’s U S Dept. of Energy 2011 Solar Decathlon. It is an award winning program that challenges 20 collegiate teams to design, build and operate solar powered houses. The winner of the competition is the one that best blends affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency. This year’s overall winner was the University of Maryland. Each structure, between 600-1000 sq. ft., must be transported for assembly to Washington, DC.

Although the weather did not completely cooperate with rain, wind temperatures in the 50’s it did not dampen the enthusiasm of the group and AIA WJ is hoping to repeat the trip to the next Solar Decathlon in 2013.

To learn more about the Solar Decathlon event, and see information on this years entries and winners go to  solardecathlon.gov