The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon challenges collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive. The winner of the competition is the team that best blends affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency. For complete information  visit the Solar Decathlon website.

Sorry to take so long to get back to you on the Solar Decathlon houses on the mall in DC.

I’d taken pictures, but they didn’t turn out so great what with all the crowds. As it happens, the solar decathlon webpage has some great videos for each house on the front page that do a far better job of showing off the houses than I could.

Team Germany was just announced the winner, though my favorite was Team Louisiana’s Beausoleil house. They plan on marketing the houses as modular homes in the next couple of years with a price around $120,000 including the solar panels.

The maximum size limit for the houses was 800 square feet and they all had to be off the grid/independent.

There is some fantastic design going on here. Each house has a separate website found by clicking on the team site and then following the link at the top of the page where you can find information on all the technologies and appliances used, including information on the manufacturer.

It is very worth noting that the working drawings/plans for all of the houses are freely available on the site by clicking on the Teams link and selecting the team of interest. The plans link is on the right side.

There is a wealth of information here for all small house enthusiasts. The green/sustainable and off-the-grid aspects are a real bonus.

Thanks Craig for the great information and be sure you check out the website as I only pulled a few of the pictures and one of the videos for this post.