The University of Maryland WaterShed house has won the 2011 Solar Decathlon. The water-conservation themed house led the competition most of the way, taking first place in the architecture contest and scoring in the top five in almost every contest, from engineering to communications.
In the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, collegiate teams design and build energy-efficient houses powered by the sun. These teams spend almost two years creating houses to compete in the 10 contests of the Solar Decathlon. The winning team produces a house that:
* Is affordable, attractive, and easy to live in
* Maintains comfortable and healthy indoor environmental conditions
* Supplies energy to household appliances for cooking, cleaning, and entertainment
* Provides adequate hot water
* Produces as much or more energy than it consumes.
An exhibit of the top houses in Washington, D.C. ended last weekend.
The top teams included:
1. Team Maryland – WaterShed House
2. Team Purdue – INHome
3. Team New Zealand – First Light House
4. Team Middlebury – Self Reliance House
5. Team Ohio – enCORE House
6. Team SCI-Arc/Cal-Tech – CHIP House
See a video house tour of the top teams
