Sunday, October 13, 2013

Solar EXPO & Decathlon

Irvine was lucky to host the Solar EXPO and Decathlon and the Great Park. I had read about this in a magazine a few months back and knew that we had to attend. We finally made it on the last day and were so glad we did. What is a Solar EXPO & Decathlon you ask? There were two parts. The first area was all about more earth friendly ways of getting and using energy (being green). Many companies were represented and showed ways that they are offering better sources of energy. There were electric cars represented- even ones that weren't on the market yet. Also, electric bikes. 

The second area was the decathlon. college students from different universities all over the world were chosen for the competition which takes place every two years. It's called a decathlon because they compete in 10 different areas (use of solar power, comfort, sustainability, hot water, comfort, fuel efficiency, etc.).  The teams arrived 4 weeks ago and began assembling their houses. Two weeks ago the judges started monitoring the data generated by the homes to see which one would win.

The future of these structures differs- some will be bought and lived in by someone, some are donated and some will go back to their home campus for use as classrooms or future projects.

I'm so glad we were able to go. It was neat for the boys (and us) to see hard work, creativity and team work at its finest.





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