Solar Decathlon Europe and the Energy Endeavour Initiative
Abstract
The Solar Decathlon is a prominent student competition on the topic of net zero energy and energy plus buildings. This competition has already taken place 12 times worldwide, three times in Europe and is under preparation for its next European edition. The unique feature is the triple of "design, build and operate" in an educational showcase addressing building designers, the industry and the general public. Over the course of the European editions, the participating teams have expressed the need for a platform to assist future competition organizers to further develop the format to confront renovation and dense urban living issues. This paper summarizes the ongoing process to establish such a platform: it is called the Energy Endeavour. It’s aim is to further the continuation of the event and its evolution aimed to increased impact related to education, communication, energy policy and building science. One major element is a publicly accessible knowledge platform for the documentation and analysis of past events. The paper describes the structure and capabilities of this platform together with some analysis examples.
Keywords
Student competition, Zero energy building, Building grid interaction, Knowledge platform, Iea