A Free (And Chic!) New Way To Display Flowers
Make A Can Opener Work Like New Again
Once the houses are complete, they're on display at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for public touring. This year, the competition took place over 3 weeks in October, and the winners are in! Let's take a look at the top 3 finalists: Team Germany, Team Illinois and Team California. Which one is your favorite?
Coolest Eco-Houses
Every few years the U.S. Department of Energy hosts the Solar Decathlon, a competition that invites teams from colleges and universities to design and build the most energy-efficient (and nice looking) solar-powered house. This year's winner: Team Germany. The tiny 24-person German team designed a 2-story cube with a focus on the exterior. The outside of the structure is completely covered in PV panels, looking kind of like a giant reptile. The panels on the sides are expected to produce twice the energy needed for the house.
The Team Germany philosophy was to "push the envelope with as many new technologies as possible," and they did just that by creating a single living space inside with fold-away appliances and furnishings.
The team who came in second was Illinois, a team of students from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Much larger than Team Germany, this 200-person team worked tirelessly on their design, called Gable Home.
The design of the home is more traditional than modern using common gable roof line and barn door-like sliding shade structure. They also made a deck from reclaimed wood from a grain elevator.
Team California claimed the third place spot with their Refract House. The entire roof is covered with solar panels and all of the windows open entirely to take advantage of the California climate. The passive solar design practically eliminates the need for heating, and a solar thermal absorption chiller supplies radiant cooling panels.
The patio design is part of the home's overall design, so your outdoor living space is just as important as the indoor space. The home also includes a high-tech monitoring system that displays the house's performance and works with an iPhone application to let users control temperature and lighting from anywhere.
