The Solar Decathlon

A few weeks ago, Travis of Crosstree asked if I would like to be a researcher on the 2009 Solar Decathlon. That included a trip to Washington DC to see the buildings in action on the National Mall. The answer was: OF COURSE!

I will get into the whole research process in a post to come, mostly because I still have quite a bit of work to, but here are some pictures of my trip.


I left really hot Biloxi, I was wearing flip flops and tank tops, and arrived in a rainy cold DC. Now this sounds like it would be uncomfortable, but it was so nice to be cold, and I got to use an umbrella, something I haven't used since college.

It was such a pleasure to get to see a bunch of good Architecture. In Biloxi, we rarely get to see beautifully detailed buildings, and in nature of our work, we also rarely get the chance to be that detailed or spend that much money.

I got to see so many different types of solar panels and solar collectors, as well as other ways to run an energy efficient house.


The above picture is a close-up of the rain screen on Penn State's entry. I love rain screens, and they did a beautiful job.


Our trip was not all research. We walked from our hotel to the monument area in the rainy evening. We started at the Washington Monument, walked past the reflection pool, and made our way to see the Lincoln Memorial. Then we headed to Foggy Bottom(is this right?) in search of Indian food and a beer.

I also stayed an extra evening and got to see my friend Jenny. We saw that cute movie Whip-it, and retired for the evening.

It was a good trip and there will be more posts about the actual work part, and maybe some more about the not work part.