The Solar Decathlon Middle East (SDME) was created through an agreement signed between Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and the Department of Energy of the United States of America, in June 2015, in order to organize a sustainable solar houses competition in Dubai in 2018. The 2018 edition of this competition is organized by DEWA, in Dubai.

Solar Decathlon is an international competition in which universities from all over the world meet to design,build and operate a grid-connected, energetically self-sufficient house.
The houses use solar energy as the only energy source and are equipped with all the technologies that permit maximum energy efficiency. During the final phase of the competition teams assemble their houses, open to the general public, while undergoing the ten contests of the competition, reason for which this event is called Decathlon.
The first Solar Decathlon was held in 2002 and the previous additions have been organized in different areas including the U.S., Europe and China.

The SDME 2018 Organization goal is to contribute to the knowledge and dissemination of industrialized, solar and sustainable housing, and therefore has the followings basic objectives:

– To raise awareness of the students participating in the competition on the benefits and opportunities offered by the use of renewable energy technologies, energy management and sustainable construction, challenging them to think creatively and develop innovative solutions that contribute to energy savings.
– To encourage professionals from different industries to select materials and systems that reduce the environmental impact of their buildings, optimizing its economic viability and providing comfort and safety of occupants.
– To educate the general public about responsible energy use, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and the technologies available to help them to reduce/optimize their energy consumption.
– To encourage the use of solar technologies.
– To promote architecturally attractive solar system integration, working on using the solar technologies to replace conventional construction materials in the building envelope such as the roof, skylights or facades.
– To clearly demonstrate that high performance solar homes can be comfortable, attractive and affordable.

The Solar Decathlon Middle East will raise the prestige and visibility of the selected participating universities as they are part of the small group of top institutions that will compete in the world’s most important Solar House Event. One of the main characteristic elements of the Solar Decathlon Middle East is its emphasis on sustainability, innovation and research. The participant teams will work not only to develop and build their houses, but also to enhance the systems’ integration and generation of knowledge on sustainable construction.

Solar Decathlon Middle East offers students a unique opportunity for learning, taking theory and putting it into practice, and doing so through a case study. Students working on the project will be challenged to use their innovation capacity, and their ability to design and build an energetically self-sufficient solar house. The projects are developed by multidisciplinary teams, giving the students the opportunity to learn not only about technical issues but also about teamwork, communication skills, a sustainable lifestyle and socio-economic issues in order to ensure the viability of their project.

More information: http://solardecathlonme.com/