Team Ontario consisting of students from Queen's, Carlton
universities, and Algonquin College While I’d heard of the US
Solar Decathlon, I confess I didn’t know a lot about it other
than teams had to design and build small houses that ran on 100%
renewable electricity. Then I met Dayna Malich, a team member of
Team Ontario, one of two Canadian teams which entered and have
been accepted to compete in the 2013 Solar Decathlon. (Team
Alberta is the other Canadian team). This event was first held
in Washington, DC, in 2002 and has since been held in 2005,
2007, 2009, and 2011. This is the first time is it being held in
Irvine, California. Teams from all over the world can put submit
a proposal. The top 20 designs selected by the United States’
Department of the Environment are selected to build their homes
in Irvine. The decathlon contest rules require that the homes
must be between 600-1000 ft2, affordable and appealing to the
consumer, run entirely on solar electricity (have a net zero
energy balance or better)