Right now 20 solar-powered homes are competing for bragging rights at the Solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C.  With a few more contests left and the final results this Friday, Team California is edging ahead of the pack.  They’ve won both the architectural and communications contests and scored third in the market viability contest.  That said, both Team Germany and Cornell are doing some incredible things, and anything can happen.  We’ll have to wait and see whether the Refract House can hold on to first.

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Team Germany took first prize at Solar Decathlon 2007, and they’re moving up in the rankings this year.  After the architectural competition, the team is now solidly in second place with a few more days to go.  Could the cube with a solar facade bring last year’s victor its second consecutive win?  In 2007, Team Germany had a beautiful home covered in oak louvered frames with integrated photovoltaics.  This year, the team of 24 architects and students has furthered the same theme with 40 single-crystal silicon panels on the roof and roughly 250 thin-film CIGS panels on the sides.

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Earlier this month, we previewed each of 20 solar-powered homes competing in the Solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C.  Over the next few weeks, we’ll try to delve into more detail to uncover innovation at its best.  This house, the Silo House, was designed and built by over 150 students and faculty at Cornell University.  It features three, 16-foot diameter silos that hold the kitchen, bedroom, and living room.  The Silo House is grid-tied and powered by 40, 200-watt photovoltaic panels, a solar thermal system, and a building integrated solar thermal system.  The Silo House currently leads the competition … will they be the team to take first place?

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It’s pretty unbelievable to see all these cool houses at Solar Decathlon.  I mean, why can’t all houses look like this?  Late yesterday, it was announced that the Technische Universität Darmstadt team from Germany took first prize.  Congratulations!  Word on the street is that this house was consistently swarmed with visitors the entire week.  Rightfully so, too.

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Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a friend on the scene in Washington D.C., providing us these exclusive shots from the Solar Decathlon.  The Solar Decathlon joins 20 college and university teams in a competition to design, build, and operate the most attractive and energy-efficient solar-powered house.  And, as you can see from these images, this place is flooded with visitors.  I bet many of them are asking themselves, “what would it take to live in a home like that?“  “Why can’t I get a home like that?“  We’re seeing the essence of Jetson Green on display — this is the ultimate confluence of modern + green.

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