Factsheet: Competition & Living Lab Platform (PDF 0.24MB) 
June 2023
The Annex background is the success story of the Solar Decathlon. The Solar Decathlon is an international student competition based on an initiative of the U.S. Department of Energy started in 2000. In this competition, universities from all over the world are challenged to design, build and operate solar powered houses. It is the only student competition worldwide addressing the realization and performance assessment of buildings and not the design only. During the competition’s final phase, each interdisciplinary team assembles its house in a common Solar Village. The final phase includes a public exhibition, monitoring and 10 contests, the reason why the competition was named a "Decathlon". Thirteen competitions have been conducted up to the end of 2017 with eight took place in the US, three in Europe, one in China and one in Columbia. With the United Emirates and Morocco, two countries in hot climates will held competitions in near future.

Solar energy engineering and solar system integration – The solar Decathlon Europe 21/22 student competition experiences 
April 2023
Author(s): Voss, K., Kalpkirmaz-Rizaouglu I., Balcerzak, A., Hansen, H.
Publisher: Elsevier
The Solar Decathlon is a competition for universities from all over the world which focuses on designing, building and operating experimental, solar-powered houses. Participating in the project offers universities a unique and interdisciplinary platform for teaching, learning and research which combines practical experience with research. In 2022, the European edition was held in Germany for the first time. The event took place with a new urban profile to increase both the relevance of the competition and the learning experience. Its main topic was the further development of the European city, and specifically focused on the existing stock of residential apartment buildings. A total of 18 teams from 11 countries with over 500 students took part, with 16 teams ultimately building their houses on a shared solar campus. Demonstrating a balanced or a positive energy balance in practice was one of the essential goals of the competition. This was achieved by 13 of 15 projects in the energy contest. The prerequisites for this were a high level of energy efficiency and the consistent use of solar energy. Both strategies were embedded in convincing architectural concepts. These ranged from the minimised visibility of standard systems on rooftops, through to custom-built systems with full architectural integration in façades. Hybrid solar systems also became a focus, with the goal of making optimum use of the surfaces on the building envelope. This paper focuses on the energy engineering and technical and architectural integration of the solar systems. It also includes the results achieved in the competition linked to the learning experience.

• Full Report (PDF 3.99MB)

After Competition and Living Lab Scenarios (PDF 13.65MB) 
Competition & Living Lab Platform (Annex 74) Subtask B - Focus Report
November 2022
Author(s): Prof Dr Torsten Masseck, Prof Dr Sergio Vega, Prof Dr Beatriz Arranz
Editor(s): Prof Dr Torsten Masseck
Publisher: University of Wuppertal, Germany
The purpose of the report is to make knowledge available about the after-competition use of Solar Decath-lon projects as living labs to those who are intending to participate in a living lab competition and those who are on the way to set up their own living lab. The report should allow a compact overview for future organ-izers and teams about successfully implemented living labs. Main source was an in-depth analysis of for-mer editions of the Solar Decathlon, mainly the European editions, but also case studies from the US and Africa, together with results from experts’ interviews which summarize the stories and experiences behind the projects.

Project Summary Report (PDF 1.16MB) 
Competition and Living Lab Platform (Annex 74)
November 2022
Editor(s): Voss, Karsten; Vega, Sergio,
Publisher: University of Wuppertal
Annex 74 was intended as a platform mapping and linking the building competition and living lab experiences worldwide and working towards further improving existing as well as developing new formats. Annex 74 should stimulate the technological knowledge, the scientific level and the architectural quality within future competitions and living labs based on the development of a systematic knowledge platform as well as on the link to expertise from previous and current IEA activities . A total of eleven experts from nine countries participated in this small Annex with varying degrees of intensity

Solar Decathlon Competitions. Impacts and Performance (PDF 58.94MB) 
Competition and Living Lab Platform (Annex 74) Subtask B
September 2022
Editor(s): Vega, Sergio, Voss, Karsten
Publisher: University Madrid
This report aims to provide knowledge on the real impacts and performances of the successive Solar
Decathlon competitions held around the world, as well as the organization of the events involved. These
impacts and performances are to be measured in an objective and quantifiable way, allowing a qualitative and quantitative analysis, as a basis for identifying key indicators, key drivers, lessons learned, etc. in order
to improve them in the future and bring the actual performances closer to the desired ones.
The objectives of this report outlines:
- Gathering existing experiences on the competitions and living labs around the world as well as the
events envolving them.
- Quantify and characterise the impacts and benefits in an objective way.
- Conduct a qualitative and quantitative analysis of SD performance, by means of surveys, indicators,
and qualified interviews
- Identifying and analyse all the key drivers and lessons learned to assure an event that wrap up a
successful competition.
- Engaging experts to be involved and work on the rules and regulations of the individual competitions
within the Energy Endeavour.
- Defining new scenario developments that enrich existing competitions and living labs.
- The scope of EBC Annex 74 is on all Solar Decathlon editions and in the life after competition of
the houses. One of the most significant challenges is how to improve the performance of these important
investments with new possible scenarios.

Participatory Research for the Evaluation of Satisfaction with Solar Decathlon Competitions: A Survey Analysis 
November 2021
Author(s): Richard Amaral, Beatriz Arranz and Sergio Vega
Publisher: mdpi
With its first edition held in 2002 organized by the U.S. Department of Energy, the SolarDecathlon is a university competition focused on training the next generation of architects andengineers with the aim of spreading the concept of efficient houses powered by the sun, fostering amore sustainable and efficient world. To date, 18 competitions have been held around the world withapproximately 291 teams, involving thousands of students, professors, organizers, visitors, etc. Withalmost two decades of history, there is no information on the performance of competitions in the eyesof those who have gone through this experience. This study, developed in the Annex 74 “Competitionand Living Lab Platform” of the International Energy Agency’s Energy in Building and CommunitiesTechnology Collaboration Program, seeks to provide insight into the experience of former decathletes,faculties, organizers, and professionals who have attended some of the competitions held so far. Toreach this objective, a worldwide survey was conducted in 2020 and an analysis of the responseswas carried out. With this information, it is possible to assess the performance of Solar Decathloncompetitions and associated events in order to improve them.

Competition and Living Lab Platform (Annex 74) Science & Technology (Subtask A) Focus Report 3: Project Facts Template (PDF 2.35MB) 
November 2021
Author(s): Jan Martin Mueller
Editor(s): Karsten Voss, Sergio Vega
Publisher: University Wuppertal
The focus report “Project Facts Template” contains a series of templates designed for summarizing quanti-tative information on competition buildings. Design, planning and implementation of the contributions to a building competition such as the Solar Decathlon are a continuous process during the whole competition. A number of characteristic facts and indicators of the buildings are created, which identify in detail their prop-erties and expectations. It is target of the template to systematically record and update the project facts and indicators for the buildings and technical systems. The template is linked to a systematic structure of all relevant data sheets of the products applied.
Document Number: https://doi.org/10.25926/zaqc-9b57

Competition and Living Lab Platform (Annex 74) Science & Technology (Subtask A) Focus Report 1: Monitoring Data Visualization (PDF 5.55MB) 
November 2021
Author(s): several Annex 74 participants
Editor(s): Karsten Voss, Sergio Vega
Publisher: University Wuppertal
The focus report “Monitoring Data Visualization” gives a detailed overview of the obtained monitoring data from Solar Decathlon Europe 2010, 2012, 2014 and Solar Decathlon Middle East 2018 by presenting a large number of illustrations. Each competition is structured in a separate chapter and begins with a brief summary of available data in form of a table. Figures related to comfort measurements, operation tem-peratures of household devices and electrical consumption as well as generation are included in each dataset. In general it can be seen, that resolution and amount of measurement data increases within the history of the Solar Decathlon.
Document Number: https://doi.org/10.25926/8ab3-kd54

Competition and Living Lab Platform (Annex 74) Science & Technology (Subtask A) Focus Report 2: Topical Paper (PDF 6.74MB) 
November 2021
Author(s): several Annex 74 participants
Editor(s): Karsten Voss, Sergio Vega
Publisher: University Wuppertal
Within the IEA Technology Collaboration Program (IEA TCP) framework relevant research on building en-ergy performance and renewable energy supply in the built environment was done and published recently. Namely in the Energy in Buildings and Communities TCP, Solar Heating and Cooling TCP and Heat Pump Technology TCP cover technical expertise related to living labs. The purpose of the report is to make this knowledge base available to those who are intending to participate in a living lab competition and those who are on the way to set up their own living lab. With a set of so-called topical papers experts from Annex 74 and other Annexes have summarized the state of the art and research on selected topics to allow a compact overview for future organizers and teams. In the case of modular construction and sustainability in construction the main source was an in-depth technical analysis of former editions of the Solar Decath-lon, mainly the European edition.
Document Number: https://doi.org/10.25926/3f99-xy74

Competition and Living Lab Platform (Annex 74) Science & Technology (Subtask A) Main Report (PDF 12.36MB) 
November 2021
Author(s): several Annex 74 participants
Editor(s): Karsten Voss, Sergio Vega
Publisher: University Wuppertal
After an introduction, the main report includes two extensive chapters with a review of the European editions of the Solar Decathlon between 2010 and 2019. 65 solar-powered competition buildings with numerous innovations were created in the four competitions. While chapter 2 focuses on building design and construction, chapter 3 focuses on energy engineering. Both chapters contain extensive cross-sectional analyses, tables and comparative graphs. Based on chapter 3, a comprehensive journal paper was published in the Energy and Buildings journal titled “Solar Decathlon Europe – A Review on the Energy Engineering of Experimental Solar Powered Houses”. The presentation provides the background knowledge for the future development of the competition format. At the same time, it already shows which impulses have been introduced for the next edition in 2022 in Germany as a result of the analyses carried out. These include, among other things, the introduction of significantly improved documentation of the competition entries in terms of their characteristics and performance indicators. It has become apparent that the previous type of documentation was only suitable for cross-sectional analyses to a very limited extent.
Document Number: https://doi.org/10.25926/jvxm-9k35

Solar Decathlon Europe – A review on the energy engineering of experimental solar powered houses 
November 2021
Author(s): Karsten Voss, Susanne Hendel, Moritz Stark
Publisher: Elsevier
The Solar Decathlon is a competition for universities from all over the world to design, build and operate small experimental solar powered houses. Its first edition took place in the US in 2002. Since 2010 it is in practice in Europe with four competitions and 65 net zero or net energy plus houses build and tested in 10 disciplines (decathlon). This paper provides an overview and analysis on the European edition of the competition. The work was carried out within the framework of Annex 74 “Competition and Living Lab Platform” of the International Energy Agency and an EC funded project named “Solar Decathlon Europe - Analysis of the Results”. The analysis was based on the development of a web based knowledge platform, providing a large set of information and monitored data from past competitions. Based on the availability of information and data, the comparative evaluation is centred on the building energy supply systems and their performance. Starting with very large PV systems, the latest competitions rules trigger the teams to apply systems sized comparable to small buildings in net zero energy building practice. As a result not all houses succeed in a positive energy balance. Due to the wider introduction of batteries the self-consumption of the solar yield and the degree of self-sufficiency increases. New developments of the competition rules stimulate the energy flexibility in operation with the power grid. Modifications for the rules and the monitoring procedure for the next edition intend to further link the competition to building science.

Building Energy Competition & Living Lab Knowledge Platform 
January 2019
Editor(s): Karsten Voss, Susanne Hendel
This knowledge platform is a major activity to secure the information, experiences and data from building energy competitions such as the Solar Decathlon and living labs worldwide. It adds to the Solar Decathlon US information system (http://solardecathlon.gov) and the individual websites of the events or living labs.

The work on the platform is part of Annex 74 (http://annex74.iea-ebc.org) of the Energy in Buildings & Communities Programme of the International Energy Agency. The platform is based on a content management system and the use of standardized fact sheets to structure, filter and transfer information. All buildings of the competitions and living labs are detailed, documented and linked to an interactive map with the connected universities. The knowledge platform also serves as the central storage space for all competition documents, such as project manuals, drawings, publications, communications initiatives, pictures, reports, evaluations, scorings as well as detailed monitoring data.

The SOLAR DECATHLON Knowledge Platform – Concept and Application (PDF 0.53MB) 
October 2018
Author(s): Susanne Hendel
Publisher: 12. EuroSun Conference International Conference on Solar Energy for Buildings and Industry, Rapperswil, Switzerland 2018
The student competition Solar Decathlon (SD) is an established test case and platform to demonstrate and analyze approaches to energy efficiency and solar energy utilization in residential buildings. All available documents for the SD are stored in a newly launched online platform, which is the base for the analyses of the technologies applied. Information is stored in a unified way to allow an intensified use of the knowledge gathered from SD houses. The advantages of an integrated technology search function will be addressed by the paper.