15 December.2021

Jury members Francesco Frontini and Cristina S. Polo López for the Building Integration Photovoltaics Contest in the Solar Decathlon Middle East (SDME) 2021. Photo credits: ©SUPSI.

Author: Dr Cristina S. Polo López, Researcher, Innovative Building Envelope Team, Swiss BiPV Competence Center.

Francesco Frontini and Cristina S. Polo López, professor and researcher from the Institute for applied sustainability to the built environment at SUPSI University, were invited to be jury members for the Building Integration Photovoltaics Contest in the Solar Decathlon Middle East (SDME) 2021 competition.

The Dubai Supreme Council of Energy, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), and the US Department of Energy signed an agreement to collaborate on the development of SDME. The 1st edition was held in 2018 while the second one took place in November 2021. Both editions occurred at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park integrating the unique local and regional characteristics of Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The competition – Solar Decathlon Middle East (SDME) is a collegiate competition that challenges students to design, build and operate solar powered houses. SDME is organized under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council. SDME 2021 was held in Dubai, during the Expo 2020 activities, offering participating universities and their partners the best opportunity to be part of the most important global event of the year. Students have been evaluated on ten different areas: energy management, engineering and construction, architecture, sustainability, mobility, house operation, communication, energy efficiency, innovation and comfort conditions. In addition, jury members evaluated the student’s houses and work in the competition in three sub-contests; smart solutions, BIPV, and interior design.

The BIPV jury awarded the following teams, evaluating the complexity of the project and the innovation of solar integration and BIPV in the projects participating the competition:

• 1st Place BIPV contest: Team SHAREK, University of Sharjak
• 2nd place BIPV contest: Team HARMONY, The British University in Dubai
• 3rd place BIPV contest: Team SCUT, South China University of Technology
• Special mention BIPV contest: Team GO-SMART, University of Bahrain

The preview on the homepage shows the BIPV Jury with Team SHAREK (1st Place), University of Sharjak at SDME21, Dubai (UAE). Photo credits: ©SUPSI.