Building-energy simulation and monitoring research activities for Solar Decathlon houses

The Solar Decathlon is a college-level student competition to design, construct, and operate approximately 800-ft² homes that are highly energy efficient and use solar thermal and photovoltaic technologies to meet all household energy needs. In fall 2005, 19 teams compete for about one week in ten contests, six of which test energy usage and production. The competition takes place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and is open to the public. A comprehensive building-energy simulation and monitoring project developed for Solar Decathlon homes is outlined in this paper. Simulation, monitoring, and analysis activities are conducted before, during, and after the competition in five phases. The level of detail of monitoring activities progressively increases in each phase. The level of detail of the simulations remains consistent throughout, but the simulation accuracy is expected to improve as more detailed monitoring data become available for model calibration. The results of the various phases of the project are expected to be of interest to five diverse groups: visitors to the Solar Decathlon, competition organizers, current Solar Decathlon teams, future Solar Decathlon teams, and building scientists.