Representatives of each of the 20 teams selected to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 will travel to Orlando, Florida, in January 2011 for the International Builders’ Show (IBS). Sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders, the IBS is the largest annual construction conference in the world.

The decathletes will debut new scale models of their Solar Decathlon houses in the Orange County Convention Center’s west exhibit hall from Wednesday, Jan. 12, through Saturday, Jan. 15. Conference attendees will also see the teams’ computer-animated walkthroughs, which bring the interior floor plans of the solar-powered houses to life for the first time.

For those who want to learn more about the creative process behind the houses, Solar Decathlon Director Richard King will moderate an educational session titled “The New Class of Affordable Solar Housing” on Wednesday, Jan. 12, from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Five of the teams will present their  strategies for reducing overall project costs without sacrificing modern amenities. The teams selected to present at this session are:

• Florida International University
• Parsons The New School for Design and Stevens Institute of Technology
• Purdue University
• Victoria University of Wellington
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Stay tuned for updates as the excitement unfolds in Orlando. After all, this is the last time that the teams will be together before the competition begins in Washington, D.C., next fall!

TAGS: Solar Decathalon, solar events, renewable energy, affordable housing, affordable solar housing, Orange County Convention Center, Orlando trade show, International Builders Show 2011, public relations, social media, green marketing.