2015 Solar Decathalon DSM Design Assistance

The Solar Decathlon is a an international competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that challenges up to 20 collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar‐powered houses that are cost‐effective, energy‐efficient, and attractive. These competition homes are highly visible and typically see more than 60,000 visitors per year. The 2015 Solar Decathlon Competition—held at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California for the second time—recently created a remarkable opportunity for Southern California Edison (SCE) to engage with customers in support of energy‐ efficiency (EE) and distributed generation (DG). The event took place on October 8th through the 18th. Team Orange County (OC) was Southern California’s home team, and the only team within SCEs service territory that participated in the 2015 Solar Decathlon. Team OC was comprised of 100 students from four schools: UC Irvine, Irvine Valley College, Chapman University, and Saddleback College. Through a partnership with Team OC, SCE provided the joint team with technical design assistance and emphasized the importance of key demand‐side management (DSM) practices, including loading order, zero net energy (ZNE), grid‐tied DG, and net energy metering (NEM). In turn, these activities allowed SCE to extract rich market intelligence on cutting edge customer‐side technologies and practices. Additionally, and probably most importantly, this partnership with Team OC demonstrated SCE’s strong support for both customer‐generated solar power and for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education in a highly broadcasted customer‐facing setting. Team OC’s home, called Casa Del Sol, is an innovative, net‐zero energy home that draws inspiration from the California poppy. Like the flower, Casa Del Sol is drought‐resistant and architecturally adapted to Southern California. The home promotes the indoor‐outdoor California lifestyle with outdoor living spaces and passive solar design. Casa Del Sol also addresses ecological concerns and helps meet the need for affordable housing in Southern California. It features an open space design with a flex floor plan as well as a separate studio that is optimal for multigenerational living, or a possible rental. Team OC’s goal with Casa Del Sol was to create a sleek and modern design that makes a sustainable future feel like home. Team OC ranked ninth overall in the competition and excelled in technical portions of the competition – ranking fourth in Energy Balance, and an impressive second in Engineering.