HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Vice Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy and MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), headed the steering committee meeting for Solar Decathlon Middle East (SDME) 2018, which is organised by DEWA under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council. SDME is being held from 14 to 29 November at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Seih Al Dahal, Dubai. The meeting was attended by Richard King, SDME Senior Advisor.
The meeting tackled the progress of the evaluation process conducted by a jury panel of experts, who are assessing the teams in 10 contests: architecture, engineering and construction, energy management, energy efficiency, comfort conditions, house functioning, sustainable transportation, sustainability, communications, and innovation, with prizes totalling AED 10 million for the first SDME. These will be awarded to the teams that participated in the SDME, met the competition’s requirements, completed the assembly of their houses at the designated site at Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, and passed the SDME assessments.
Over the course of two weeks, SDME witnessed the participation of 15 teams from 28 universities, comprising more than 600 students and faculty members from 11 European, North American, Asian, and Australian regions, and representing 54 nationalities, who built 15 smart and sustainable houses on a 60,000 square-metre area allocated by DEWA for the competition at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Seih Al Dahal, Dubai.
Al Tayer praised the competition proceedings since its inauguration by HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, as well as the jury’s efforts in assessing the houses over two weeks. Al Tayer also commended the large public response, as many of them visited the site to review the creative ideas and innovative solutions for smart homes. On Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, DEWA provided free transportation to the public to visit the SDME site.
Participating teams earn points in three ways: task completion, where teams complete tasks that simulate modern living, performing household chores such as cooking, laundry, and hosting guests, as well as logging miles driving an electric vehicle charged by the house’s solar power system; monitored performance, where an advanced and comprehensive monitoring system evaluates the house’s energy performance and capacity to maintain a healthy and comfortable interior environment, including temperature, humidity, air quality, and lighting; and jury evaluation for features that cannot be measured with meters or sensors. Special awards at SDME include the Special Creative Solution Award for innovative solutions that can be developed commercially, the People’s Choice Award where visitors can vote for the best house, the Interior Design Award, and the Building-Integrated Photovoltaics Award.
The SDME Steering Committee includes DEWA; Dubai Supreme Council of Energy; Ministry of Cabinet Affairs & The Future; Ministry of Energy & Industry; Ministry of Education; Dubai Municipality; Dubai Police; Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA); Expo 2020 Dubai; and Dubai Future Foundation.
SDME sponsors include the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy; Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar); Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC); General Electric; and Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power in the Platinum Category; Mai Dubai, Meydan, and BASF in the Gold Category; and Almarai in the Silver Category. Partners include the World Green Economy Summit and Emirates Green Building Council.
Financial prizes total AED 20 million for the first and second SDME, and DEWA has allocated a 60,000 square-metre area for the competition at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Seih Al Dahal, Dubai.