The Third Solar Decathlon is underway in Washington, DC, with 20 teams competing from universities in the US, Canada, Germany and Spain. Each team must transport their house to the National Mall in Washington, and all the houses will form a "solar village" there from October 12-20, 2007. Given that many Americans are increasingly buying modular homes with varying and oft times questionable levels of quality, the work being done by these students is a long overdue breath of fresh air. Innovation, creativity and change are hallmarks of our culture. Let's hope we can embrace the ideas these students are promoting and move them forward with dispatch.

October 5, 2007, updated November 7, 2007

Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany.

November 7, 2007: The first place winner was the Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany. Second place was University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA; and third place was Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California, USA.

With the exception of the Carnegie Mellon submission, we posted artist's concepts of the individual entries. We recommend you visit the Solar Decathlon site to see photographs of the homes as they were set up in Washington. These photos give you a much different feel for the homes. For example, we have presented a photo of the actual Darmstadt home as the introductory image.

The Third Solar Decathlon is underway in Washington, DC, with 20 teams competing from universities in the US, Canada, Germany and Spain. Each team will compete in 10 contests to design, build and operate the most livable, energy efficient, completely solar-powered house. The teams will be evaluated on how well they blend aesthetics and modern conveniences with maximum energy production and optimal efficiency.

Each team must transport their house to the National Mall in Washington, and all the houses will form a "solar village" there from October 12-20, 2007. The winner will be announced on October 19, 2007. The contest is sponsored by the US Department of Energy.

We will introduce you to the teams, link to their web sites, provide an artist's concept or photo of the teams' homes, and, to the extent we can, show you contest photography later.

Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

This is called the TriPOD, an 800 square foot home for two. The model has three pods: kitchen, bedroom, and live-work space. The Core houses all the utilities, including a bathroom and laundry closet. The design seeks to blend indoor and outdoor spaces, showcasing a green space to the north and a courtyard to the south. Carnegie Mellon.

Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA

Cornell's house is 800 square feet that emphasizes openness within the home. Visual and physical connections to the outdoors are made through strategically placed windows, walls which can be opened or closed to create a variety of configurations, and solar panels attached to an independent structure called the Light Canopy. Cornell University.

Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

This house consists of translucent polycarbonate panels that are sturdy and afford excellent insulation, as well as structural insulated panels. Louvres are added to the panels to provide shade and resist unwanted heat. Windows wrap around the entire house to admit sunlight. There is a rain screen that sheds rain before it strikes the wall, minimizing decay. Photovoltaic cells are on the roof to provide energy. Georgia Institute of Technology

Kansas State University, Manhattan Kansas along with the University of Kansas

The design is meant to capture the essence of Kansas, its landscape, economy and resources. The design seeks to minimize accepted domestic requirements for energy without sacrificing quality of life. The design shrinks the overall resource footprint of the house. Solar panels are on the wall you cannot see in this rendering. High efficiency appliances are used. The walls have two outer skins of plywood and an inner insulating foam core of polystyrene. Kansas.

Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan, USA

This is called the ALOeTERRA house, which means, "nourish the Earth." It is an 800 square foot home. It employs structurally insulated panels. The hot water heater is powered by solar tubing. The cold weather of Michigan dictated positioning of windows and solar units. The home has hydronic radiant floor systems providing heat, some furniture also serves as structural components, it employs a solar chimney, and uses electrochromatic glazing technology for the windows to maximize solar exposure and maintain visual comfort. Lawrence Technological University.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

The MIT solar home (the 7th in a series at MIT) works to appeal to a large segment of the US population both aesthetically and practically. The design integrates passive thermal technologies with active controls and solar collectors in order to control the energy flows to and from the house with a minimum of resident intervention. The latest in energy efficient technologies are used with a pervasive but non-intrusive means for the consumer to view their energy usage within the context of the house and of the larger grid. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

New York Institute of Technology, New York, New York, USA

NYIT call this design the OPEN House. There are two parts to OPEN House: a manifold, or core, that contains kitchen, bathroom and environmental systems; and a large, open space that encourages diverse living scenarios. The house as a whole is open, adaptable and customizable. The house sits lightly on the ground on a raised, permeable platform. On the roof of the core are solar cells and a pool of water that simulates a geothermal well by storing or dissipating heat generated by OPEN House. A waterfall off the west side of the core allows water to cool and be recycled back to the roof pond. New York Institute of Technology.

Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

The Morningstar House. The Breezeway follows the East-West path to define the main movement throughout the home, the three main components are layered side by side along the North-South axis - the Living Space to the south, the Breezeway as the central corridor and the Technical Core to the northern side of the home. The Southern Facade of the Living Space handles the absorption and the reflection of sunlight and the possibility of solar collection. The Breezeway introduces methods of efficient human flow, effective air ventilation, and light infiltration. The Technical Core is a display case of sustainable technologies, providing visual cues and hands-on information on renewable energy production systems. Pennsylvania State University.

Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, California, USA

3rd Place Winner

This team wanted to build a sustainable solar house that is functional, elegant, and innovative—and they did just that. The Communications Jury lauded their friendly, enthusiastic house tour, which was informative, entertaining, and very much "on target" for public audiences. They were one of five teams to score a perfect 100 points in the Hot Water contest and one of seven teams to score a perfect 100 points in the Energy Balance contest. Their house almost didn't make it to the Solar Decathlon, because their transport truck broke an axle and delayed them by three days.

Santa Clara has designed a contemporary take on California Mission. This home has fully retractable Nana Walls, and exposed bamboo I-beams. The sunny side is made from fiber cement combining inert sand and fast growing wood fiber panels, while the shady sides are made of a paper pulp treated with resin, cross-linked, pressed and baked to create solid sheets. Santa Clara University

École de Technologie Supérieure, Université de Montréal, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada

Team Montréal is a consortium of three universities and has designed a home that will meet typical North American comfort standards. It uses a steel structure that facilitates an open interior without columns and load bearing walls. It uses a polyurethane insulation and argon-gas filled triple glazed windows. The green South façade wall and the green roof found on the North side of the house create a natural air cleansing system and allow for rain water to be collected and stored for periods of drought. Team Montréal

Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany

1st Place Winner

Darmstadt won the Architecture, Lighting, and Engineering contests. The Architecture Jury said the house pushed the envelope on all levels and is the type of house they came to the Decathlon hoping to see. The Lighting Jury loved the way this house glows at night. The Engineering Jury gave this team an innovation score that was as high as you could go, and said nobody did the integration of the PV system any better. Darmstadt was one of seven teams to score a perfect 100 points in the Energy Balance contest

This home employs a passive energy concept, using the minimum amount of energy to be comfortable, especially designed for the hot and humid Washington, DC climate. The building is arranged in three layers. The outer layer consists of oak louvered frames which, same as the roof, are equipped with photovoltaic. The second layer is the thermal envelope, consisting of highly-efficient windows and walls. The third layer is the core in centre of living space. It is incorporating kitchen, bathroom and a major part of the building systems. Its walls are made of ACRYLITE®. Technische Universität Darmstadt

Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA

Texas A&M has adopted the groHome concept, meant to invent a system for building a home rather than being a prototype. The basic structural frame of the groHome uses high performance, light weight, industrialized elements that can be carried to a site and set up with a small crew and minimal tools. Pedestal footings elevate the house above the ground to cause minimal damage to the earth. Solar generators such as photovoltaic arrays or hot-water arrays, are incorporated into groWalls and groRoofs to provide the energy needs appropriate to the life style and solar resource availability. Texas A&M University

Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

The general configuration consists of a box which is closed on its northern side and open on the southern side using different methods of dealing with the apertures on its facades according to the orientation. The box is covered with a plane turning 30º in respect to the horizontal, orientated towards the south and upon which the photovoltaic solar panels will be located and which will have small projections on the east, west and south facades. the apertures have elements to control the intensity of light and solar radiation. Both the north and south facing windows open in order to allow through ventilation. The window shutters of the deck are made of metal, integrating the photovoltaic panels in its configuration. The natural materials will contrast with the glass and metal surfaces. The exterior claddings of the house will be made of wood, and the facilities ‘package’ will be enclosed in vertical panels bedecked in vegetation giving rise to a deliberately warm feature which will contrast with the sophistication of the deck. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Universidad de Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, USA

The project was to create an 800 sq ft dwelling prototype that established a house able to adapt to different climates and sites. Using an on-the-grid design of photovoltaic cells as its only source of energy, the design uses mechanical systems both spatially and visually. The idea was to create a minimal dwelling, where sustainable living is translated into a habitable space. An analysis of a plant cell helped define the organization of the spaces. The prototype makes use of its waste using a living machine to purify water and a reflective pond to collect rainwater; also a vegetable garden can help grow your own food. The team investigated green materials such as ecoresin that are used throughout the house. The house can be passively ventilated. Universidad de Puerto Rico

University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA

University of Colorado teams won both Solar Decathlon competitions in 2002 and 2005. This year's design is based on a modular and prefabricated engineering spine. The spine, formed by conventional shipping containers, comprises the kitchen, laundry, bathrooms, and equipment spaces, and includes the building electrical service and all plumbing and HVAC systems. There are two shipping containers with a container for the kitchen, bathroom, and systems area, and a container for the laundry, master bathroom, and guest bathroom. A well-insulated house with high-performance windows does not require heating and cooling at the perimeter. By centralizing the HVAC system within the spine, heating and cooling loads can be met with smaller pressure losses, less air leakage, and lower material costs. University of Colorado at Boulder

University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

The designers refer to this as the (re)form house that will transform the way people think about dwelling and energy efficiency. It will gather energy from the solar array and transform it into kinetic, electric, and potential energy. [re]form will capture human-generated mechanical movements and transform them into other forms of energy. The residents will learn how the building works as they experience it. This is a house that will perform as a work of art. It will, in the most literal sense, be an art form. University of Cincinnati

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA

The concept is a flexible modular system that can provide utility-independent housing for temporary or seasonal use. In the very early stages of the design process, the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina were weighing heavily on the minds of the organizers at Illinois. They wanted to develop a prototype for disaster relief to be used as temporary housing or as mobile office and command centers. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA

2nd Place Winner

Maryland won the Communications contest and was second in Architecture, Market Viability, and Lighting. The Communications Jury praised their excellent Web site and house tour. The Architecture Jury said the house definitely belonged in the top tier. The Lighting and Market Viability juries also had high praise. They were one of seven teams to score a perfect 100 points in the Energy Balance contest.

This is called the LEAFHouse, taking its inspiration from the leaf as a perfect machine for converting sunlight to energy. It employs a photovoltaic power system, water heating tubes for hot water, a dehumidification system called a Liquid Desiccant Waterfall, glazing energy efficient fixtures, an energy management system, a collection system for used water to be used for other purposes, and a rainwater collection system. University of Maryland.

University of Missouri - Rolla, Rolla, Missouri, USA

The design is meant to be modern, dominated by straight lines, stainless steel appliances and metal fixtures. The exterior material of the house, PaperStone, was installed to resemble plate and rivet construction. All of the south-facing windows were designed with an overhang to help keep the sun from adding excessive amounts of heat in the summer and help keep heat inside the house in the winter. The folding glass wall entrance is most evident when approaching the house and folds away to reveal a large open area that contains the kitchen, living, and dining rooms. This opening, combined with the lofty ceiling, gives the house an airy and spacious feeling. University of Missouri - Rolla

University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA

They call it the BLOOMhouse. It is constructed of 6” Structurally Insulated Panels (SIP's) with an R-24 value that reduce heating and cooling costs throughout the life of the home. Metal-faced SIPs perform structurally, and act as a thermal and moisture barrier. The house has steel frames, called "moment frames," transfer pv rack loads to the foundation while also picking up lateral forces on the long sides of the building. University of Texas at Austin

Opening photo credit: University of Colorado, Denver and Boulder, First Place Solar Decathlon 2005. Presented by Solar Decathlon

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