Let the Solar Decathlon Games Begin!

Vienna University of Technology - LISI, Living Inspired by Sustainable Innovation

What an exciting week we have ahead of us.  The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon invites 20 collegiate teams, representing 30 international schools from around the world, to design, build and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient and nice to look at for this biennial competition.  The event, which normally hits the National Mall in D.C., takes the decathlon to the west coast and in our very own backyard in Orange County's Great Park in Irvine.

Czech Technical University - AIR HOUSE

Starting today, the 20 teams will begin their builds in hopes their design will be chosen as the most efficient home design to represent the home of the future.  The international groups consist of 30 schools as diverse as Stanford, El Paso Community College and the Vienna University of Technology, in hopes of assembling the most unusual housing tract to hit Orange County,

USC - FLUXHOME

Each team built its design at home to prove its viability, then deconstructed and shipped the design to Irvine for reconstruction. The homes open for public viewing Oct. 3 to 6, close for judging Oct. 7 to 9, then reopen to the public viewing Oct. 10 to 13. Gawking is free. A related expo will have information and exhibitors on wind and solar energy and electric and fuel cell cars, among other topics. For more information, visit www.solardecathlon.gov.  The public is urged to visit Great Park and participate in viewing the homes as they are being built.

Stanford - START HOME

Below is a video of the DALE house from a team made up of students from SCI-Arc and Caltech.  The most ambitious of the designs, includes modular rooms that slide on tracks, opening the house in good weather or closing it when it's too hot or rainy.  Solar panels on top of the modules also are on tracks, allowing them to be moved and repositioned for maximum effectiveness.

DALE from SciCal2013

Whether you are looking for ideas as basic as lighting, flooring, appliances to the most innovative ideas on insulation, solar panels and other building materials, you are sure to get inspiration from these 20 homes selected.  The event closes October 13, so make plans to head down there and check it out!

Los Angeles Commissioners Approve Changes to Solar Incentive Program

Any owner in Los Angeles contemplating going solar, should act quickly to take advantage of the city's incentive's to go Green as reduced rebates go into effect Jan. 1, 2011.  The decision by the Department of Water and Power is an attempt to stretch the program's funds, totaling $318 million meant to be distributed through 2016.

It seems that the trend to work with sustainable alternatives of energy has emerged as a beast to the department.  This year alone, the applications for rebates total $70 million.  The city had only budgeted $30 million!!!  So, as you can see, the department is now concerned and has to roll back some of the steam and spread the wealth to a larger pool of people.  

The Department of Water and Power's current rebate is $3.24 for every watt installed.  A homeowner who installed a 4-kilowatt system would receive a rebate of $12,960.  As of January 1, the rebate is reduced to $2.20 per watt installed.  The same project would only garner a rebate of $8,800 as of January 1, 2011.

Reductions will continue as the utility meets goals for home-generated electricity.  We will see the rebate be reduced to $1.50 per watt then to .60 cents per watt over time.  As we are a city of progressive thinkers, I would not doubt the reductions to occur faster than anticipated.  Hence, take advantage of the $3.24 per watt rebate!  Get in while the gettin's good, folks!