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Solar Decathlon 2007

Photos of the Day

High-resolution photos for many of these images are available in the Photo Library.

October 3-22, 2007


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October 3, 2007

Photo of a dirt path extending toward the obelisk of the Washington Monument. One large crane is extended to the left of the path, while two are extended to the right. Homes in various states of construction line the path.

Cranes dominate the landscape on the first day of the Solar Decathlon.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a crane holding half of a house suspended several feet and to the right of several footings that will serve as its foundation. The other half of the house is already in place. The Washington Monument is visible in the background between the two halves of the house.

The team from the Universidad de Puerto Rico lifts the second section of their house into place.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a young man on a ladder that is leaning against a house. The Capitol building is visible in the background.

John Morris of the University of Maryland takes a breather while working on his team's house.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of three young men wearing hard hats that are fitted into cowboy hats.

Matt Weaver and his teammates from the University of Texas at Austin show off their team's decidedly Texan version of the hard hat.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of several people on the path that runs down the National Mall, and all are wearing hard hats. The Capitol building is in the background and to one side is the home from the Universidad de Puerto Rico.

Hard hats are the fashion du jour during the early days of the Solar Decathlon. Although teams are eager to assemble their solar homes, safety always comes first.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



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October 4, 2007

Photo of people walking through a metal gate with sides about a foot square and about 15 feet high, a top about a foot square and about 20 feet wide, and a Solar Decathlon banner across the top. A jumble of buildings is in the background.

The erection of an official entry gate marks progress toward next week's opening of the Solar Decathlon. The partially completed homes of the University of Colorado and the Technische Universität Darmstadt are visible in the background.
(Credit: Kevin Eber/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a house with a metal exterior on one side that angles out sharply from the bottom of the house, then angles back in toward the top of the house from about three feet above the ground.

The Kansas Project Solar House features a futuristic metal exterior.
(Credit: Kevin Eber/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a woman taping bundles of items together in a house with translucent, white, softly glowing walls.

Malek Bessaad of the Georgia Institute of Technology works by the diffuse glow of sunlight filtering through the home's walls, which are filled with aerogel. Aerogel, sometimes described as "solid smoke," is a gel with an extremely low density, which makes it an excellent insulator.
(Credit: Kevin Eber/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a section of a house with slanted walls and a slanted roof suspended from a number of slings and hanging above a partially completed house. Team members are holding ropes tied to the section to keep it steady.

A crane lowers a top section of the University of Colorado at Boulder home into place.
(Credit: Kevin Eber/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a house with rough-looking insulation all over it. One person works on a scaffold while another, strapped into safety equipment, works on the roof.

With all its insulation exposed to the elements, the Team Montréal house looks a bit ragged right now, as it awaits its outer shell.
(Credit: Kevin Eber/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a house that features a large line of wood-framed glass doors on its south side. The house has a slanted roof and a wooden deck, and much of the exterior is made of wood.

The home from the New York Institute of Technology is taking shape quickly.
(Credit: Kevin Eber/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of the front of a house with two central glass doors, bookended between two vertical rows of windows. On either side of the doors and windows are slate tiles.

A new cladding has been added to the Penn State house: slate tiles, recycled and reused from an old barn.
(Credit: Kevin Eber/Solar Decathlon)



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October 5, 2007

Secretary Bodman reaches over a tape marked "caution" to shake hands with a young man while two other young men look on.

Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman greets the team from Michigan's Lawrence Technological University.
(Credit: Ken Shipp/Solar Decathlon)



Secretary Bodman, Richard King, and two University of Illinois team members stand together laughing, with the team's house and the adjacent MIT house in the background.

Secretary Bodman and DOE's Richard King share a laugh with members of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign team.
(Credit: Ken Shipp/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of the interior of a narrow building, where one young man works on equipment in the ceiling and another carries a piece of metal while climbing a ladder.

The team from Carnegie Mellon University are hard at work on the interior of their house.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a young woman in a hardhat leaning against a wall with her legs crossed, a laptop computer in her lap. The surrounding room shows evidence of ongoing construction, and a ladder is visible through an adjacent window.

Heather Korb of the New York Institute of Technology finds a quiet moment to use her computer. Sprint started providing high-speed wireless Internet to the Solar Decathlon on Thursday afternoon. In the spirit of the cutting-edge competition, the company sends its research engineers to the event to test out the company's most advanced equipment.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Aerial view of the Solar Decathlon from the west end, showing that many houses have taken shape. On the left, members of Lawrence Technological University are installing solar panels on their roof. In the background is the Capitol building.

The exteriors of many homes are now nearing completion, and a number of teams took to their roofs today to install solar panels.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



On a sloping rooftop and wearing safety equipment, a young man sits and wires a solar panel while an older man holds the solar panel in place. In the foreground is a solar panel that has already been installed.

Harold Remlinger and Brian Eady of the Lawrence Technological University install solar panels on the roof of the team's home.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of three men on the roof of a house, wearing safety gear and installing solar panels. The Capitol building is in the background.

The University of Maryland team was also installing its solar panels today.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a young woman and a smiling older man wearing safety gear and crouching under a rack holding solar panels, with trusses that hold the rack running on both sides and behind the two people.

Mike Howell and Jennifer Ny work on the roof of the Cornell House to wire up the team's solar panels.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



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October 6, 2007

Photo looking east from the center of the Solar Decathlon shows a man in a hardhat on a walkway, looking down a row of houses lit by a temporary light.

Late at night, the Solar Decathlon takes on a ghostly appearance under the harsh white glare of portable lights.
(Credit: Kevin Eber/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of several people in silhouette as they walk past the exterior of a house wearing hardhats.

Walking into the glare of artificial lights, the team from the Kansas Project Solar House prepares to tackle another task.
(Credit: Kevin Eber/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a house with a metal exterior. A young woman on the deck in front of the house talks with a young man on the roof, while another young man works on the roof and a third young man sits on the deck, using a laptop computer.

On Tuesday night, some members of the University of Maryland team worked on the roof...
(Credit: Kevin Eber/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of two people on the deck of a house, working with wooden exterior shutters on a row of glass doors on the front of the house. Another person works on the rooftop. A bright portable light shines on the scene.

...while others worked on the front shutters.
(Credit: Kevin Eber/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of two young men on a roof, wearing protective gear and installing a solar panel.

Andy Lau and Lee Gorny installed solar panels on the roof of the Penn State house.
(Credit: Byron Stafford/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of four people working in the midst of a network of girders laid out to form a deck in front of a house with an exterior made mostly of glass. At the front of the deck, a number of girders form a vertical structure.

During the night, the Texas A&M team put together their front deck...
(Credit: Kevin Eber/Solar Decathlon)



Photo looking between girders at a young man grinding metal, with sparks flying. Behind him, the glass exterior of a house reflects a neighboring house, while a person is standing inside the house.

...and during the day on Wednesday, Ross Charba did some fine-tuning by grinding some of the deck support girders.
(Credit: Kevin Eber/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a number of people carrying a metal grid, with the house from the University of Colorado at Boulder on the right and the Washington Monument in the background.

Later that day, some members of the Georgia Tech team pitched in to help the team from the University of Colorado at Boulder to move a heavy metal shading device.
(Credit: Kevin Eber/Solar Decathlon)



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October 7, 2007

Night photo of 13 young men and women sitting, reclining, and laying down on walkway tiles in front of a house lit by bright portable lights.

The team from the University of Cincinnati takes a dinner break on Saturday evening.
(Credit: Byron Stafford/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of two students standing near a doorway of a house while a woman sits in the doorway and talks with them.

Lee Ann Holwager, a safety officer at the Solar Decathlon, discusses safety issues with two Santa Clara University team members on Saturday night.
(Credit: Byron Stafford/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a large group of people sitting on the floor in the corner of a large white tent, eating food and drinking.

The teams from Carnegie Mellon University and the Technische Universität Darmstadt enjoy a barbeque sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders.
(Credit: Kevin Eber/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a young woman holding a glass tube in place as a young man secures it in place. A total of five glass tubes are mounted on a metal rack.

Many teams are now installing solar thermal systems on their houses. Nearly all the teams employ "evacuated tube collectors" to gather the solar heat. These are glass tubes with a vacuum inside them as insulation to keep them from losing heat. A metal tube with fins collects the sun's heat, transferring it to water that passes through the tubes, thereby heating the water. In this photo, Nansen Yu and Myra Wong of Cornell University install evacuated tube collectors on their team's house.
(Credit: Kevin Eber/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a young man cleaning a large bank of glass tubes that form the entire year wall of the a house. A scaffold in front of one section of glass tubes carries a banner that says 'University of Cincinnati.'

Christopher Davis of the University of Cincinnati cleans evacuated tube solar collectors on the south side of the team's house. The team is using solar heat rather than electricity as the main driving force for their air conditioning, so they need a large bank of solar thermal collectors. Air conditioning that is driven by solar heat is called "solar absorption cooling."
(Credit: Kevin Eber/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a house with slate tiles on one side and part of another, then darker tiles with horizontal lines in them, suggesting they are made of photovoltaic materials.

The Penn State house combines the new and old: reused slate tiles from an old barn on the right, and new solar "slates" on the left.
(Credit: Kevin Eber/Solar Decathlon)



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October 8, 2007

Photo of three men and two women wearing day-glo orange vests and hard hats standing in a circle on the National Mall.

One of the leaders of site operations for the Solar Decathlon, Robi Robichaud, meets with his team on the morning of day six to get ready for the much-anticipated delivery of water to each of the twenty competing houses.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a man holding a water hose at the opening of a yellow storage tank.

On this day, water is taken from a tanker truck to fill the storage tanks of each house, as seen here at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology solar home; this supply will need to last MIT and each of the Decathlon teams for the entire competition.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of eight men and women in a line holding the water hose leading from the truck up to the top of a water tank.

While this tank atop Carnegie Mellon University's "green wall" is being filled initially from the water tanker, it is actually intended to collect rainwater during the event to provide water for the vegetation below.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of three men standing in profile, holding a water house; the University of Illinois solar house is seen in the background.

Many members of each team pitch in to hold and control the hose leading from the tanker to their house's storage tank, and here Ben Barnes joins his University of Illinois teammates in guiding the supply hose to their tank.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of bedding plants in the foreground, with the Madrid solar house in the background.

And some of all this water will go toward the beautiful landscaping being arrayed around the houses, like this group of plants ready and waiting for installation at the Madrid house.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a green electrical generator in the foreground, with a large array of photovoltaic panels in the background.

Today, the sixth day of the event, is significant in that all of the houses must transition to full solar power; here the generator at the Kansas Project Solar House (Kansas State University and University of Kansas) is now still, while the equally quiet PV panels power all of the house.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



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October 9, 2007

Photo of a woman reporter holding a microphone and interviewing a man dressed in a suit and wearing a hard hat.

Washington's Fox 5 Morning News visits the Solar Decathlon site and tours some of the homes. Reporter Holly Morris interviews DOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Alexander Karsner outside of the University of Texas at Austin house, before taking a tour.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a reflection pond containing pots of plants, with a screen covered with glass tubes rising to the left of the pond.

Texas A&M University's hydroponic garden and array of evacuated tube solar collectors for heating water are an integral part of their house design. The garden and screen offers privacy to the deck area and the interior living space. The collectors are carefully placed to receive optimal sunlight on the tubes, even though the screen itself is on the north side of the patio. The water in the garden pond reflects radiant solar heat back up onto the tubes.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a woman wearing a hard hat and using a plastic watering can to pour water onto plants on a wooden deck space. Wires hold small, clear, plastic squares over some of the plants.

Team member Meredith Magin waters one of Carnegie Mellon University's three Global Gardens, just installed today. The gardens are a series of living displays symbolizing current and future land use throughout the world, with each small plastic square over the plants representing a carbon footprint.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a stack of packing boxes filled with glass milk bottles.

Milk bottles! Even the most common-place items can have an important place in the solar-powered home. These bottles are ready for installation in the Penn State house's "milk bottle wall." The bottles will be filled with aerogel or water and placed as passive solar storage—they will absorb heat during the day and give it back in the cooler evening. Any glass container will work, but the milk bottles are in honor of Pennsylvania's dairy farm heritage.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



A photo of a partially built sun deck on the exterior of a solar house, with three team members at work. The U.S. Capitol building is visible in the background.

Members of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid team install the deck of their house, which, once completed, will have a great view of the U.S. Capitol building.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo showing the exteriors of four solar houses lining a gravel path. The Solar Decathlon banner arches over the pathway in the foreground, and the Washington Monument is visible in the distance.

With decathletes enjoying another record-setting 90-degree-plus day, there is no shortage of early afternoon sun in the solar village. Looking down the north side of Decathlete Way, the solar houses of Santa Clara University, Universidad de Puerto Rico, University of Texas at Austin, and University of Maryland are visible.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



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October 10, 2007

Aerial photo showing the exterior a of solar house under construction, with every spot of the yard covered with materials and equipment.

As the Decathletes enter the final stretch before opening day, each team focuses on what needs to be done to finish. The Universidad Politécnica de Madrid team has some external work left to be done and a yard that will soon need some cleaning.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Aerial photo of the front porch of a solar house under construction, with four men in green shirts painting the walls and railing.

The University of Missouri-Rolla team, on the other hand, concentrates more on interior work, while also finishing up their front porch and exterior painting.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of the exterior of a solar house under construction, with two men in hard hats building the framework for a front porch. Behind one of the men the side of the house is visible and contains panels of growing plants.

Much of the work today is directed at completing decks and porches, like this duo from Team Montréal (École de Technologie Supérieure, Université de Montréal, and McGill University). The vegetation seen on the side of their house serves several sustainable purposes, including growing edible plants, providing cooling and insulation, and, of course, being attractive.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of ten to twelve people working on top of a partially completed deck, with metal support work visible and tools lying about.

The Technische Universität Darmstadt team is working hard to complete their deck in time for opening day. Their design includes a large deck space to allow for team social gatherings with visitors. Their plan stresses the comfortable living aspects of an all-solar home.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a worker in a hard hat tethered to the roof and working on skylights. The Washington Monument looms in the background.

At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology house, under the ever-watchful Washington Monument, a safely tethered worker is finishing the flashing around their skylights.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a smiling student in a hard hat, standing on a ladder and holding a paint roller.

MIT teammate Christyn Sheriff is giving the interior walls a good coat of paint to be sure that their house will be ready for the opening ceremony and tours on Friday.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



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October 11, 2007

Photo of three people with hardhats working on the ramp and railing leading to the front door of a solar house.

Team members of the Universidad de Puerto Rico finish some last minute construction on their entryway. They will have an attractive and welcoming ramp to the door come this evening's tours.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of two men in hardhats working on the railing of a ramp, with the solar home in the background.

The Georgia Institute of Technology team is precision tuning their ramp to be ready for inspections and public tours.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a man standing at the foot of a ramp leading into a solar house, with signs placed along the railing.

The attractive entryway to the University of Cincinnati house features informational signs for the public and is proudly shown off by team member Brian Whitright.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of several planter boxes full of brushes and flowers, with the solar house in the background.

Vegetation abounds in the solar village and serves purposes beyond looking beautiful, such as shading, cooling, and providing edible plants. One example of lush greenery is the Penn State house site.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of three people in hardhats crossing a dirt path in single file, with solar houses under construction in the background.

A lot of behind-the-scenes work is going on at the Solar Decathlon, including the important work done by the instrumentation team, which has been quietly getting the houses ready for accurate measuring for the objective contests. Here we see team members, from left to right, Sara Farrar-Nagy, Gregg Barker, and Ed Hancock heading off on their duties—oddly reminiscent of a famous album cover isn't it?
(Credit: Paul Norton/Solar Decathlon)



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October 12, 2007

Photo of a man cutting a wide ribbon with a pair of oversized scissors. He is flanked by several men and women in business suits with a crowd of college students behind him and the Capitol Building visible in the background.

Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman cuts the ribbon to open the Solar Decathlon. After eight days of assembly, the solar village is ready to receive the public.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a man standing at a lectern with blue sky in the background.

Secretary Bodman opens the Solar Decathlon by congratulating the students on their hard work and dedication in completing their houses, which he calls "marvels of engineering."
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of three young men and one young woman standing in front of a house.

Members of the University of Texas at Austin team are all smiles on opening day of the 2007 Solar Decathlon.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of five women in red T-shirts leaning on a rail and standing in front of a house with solar panels on top.

The Universidad Politécnica de Madrid team members enjoy today's Opening Ceremony. The sunny day is a boon to the solar panels on the roof.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a man in a kilt playing the bagpipes and six other men standing in front of a house.

The Carnegie Mellon team comes to the Opening Ceremony in style, with a bagpiper leading the way.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of people walking along a street, with rows of houses on both sides.

Larger-than-anticipated crowds come to the solar village on opening day. Long lines form as the visitors show their eagerness to tour these state-of-the-art houses.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



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October 13, 2007

Photo of a house interior including the kitchen and dining room.

The Texas A&M home features an elegant kitchen, set for a dinner party for four. The daylighting design brings welcome brightness into the space.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of four men and one woman standing inside the kitchen of a home.

The Communications jurors tour the University of Colorado at Boulder home. Team members escort the jury through the house and describe its features, just as they would for the house tours given to the public.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a young woman in a red shirt who is watering plants with a hose. The U.S. Capitol Building is visible in the background.

Lacy Swanson of the Cornell team waters the abundant landscaping of the house. Many of the teams are using generous plantings this year, which adds a nice touch to the solar village and makes the home more livable.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a young man sitting using a laptop computer in outdoor hallway of a house that is shaded by louvered panels.

A member of the Technische Universität Darmstadt team grabs a quiet moment to catch up on his work.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a young man standing on a deck outside of a futuristic-looking house talking to a group of five people standing at ground level.

The Kansas Project Solar House team presents to the Architecture Jury. After the presentation, the jurors, who are genuinely curious and interested in the designs, ask questions of the students.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a close-up of the face of young woman, who is visible between green plants sitting in water in a transparent racking system.

Blenda Martineu of the Universidad de Puerto Rico team tends to plants in the team's hydroponics garden on an exterior wall of the house. This team named its project "Cell House," because they drew inspiration from the self-sufficiency of a single plant cell.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



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October 14, 2007

Photo of about a hundred people on a walkway with two futuristic homes in the background.

Sunday was a repeat of Saturday in terms of numbers of visitors who came to the solar village. This photo was taken earlier in the day before the crowds grew dense. From left are the Carnegie Mellon and Massachusetts Institute of Technology homes.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of three men and two women sitting and conferring. Louvered shutters are visible behind them.

The jury for Market Appeal, which is part of the Market Viability contest, discusses the merits of the Technische Universität Darmstadt entry. In addition to market appeal and livability, these jurors are asked to evaluate whether the house could be built easily and accommodate a variety of potential homeowners.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a wood-sided house with slatted wood overhangs over the windows.

The University of Illinois house design can be configured as a residence, as demonstrated for the Solar Decathlon, or a number of other structures, including field offices, relief structures, and summer homes. The building-block modules can be added as desired to create interesting configurations of different sizes.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a young man in an orange T-shirt pointing to a feature inside the office of a home, with three people looking on.

An Illinois team member points out features of the home. If the students aren't expert public speakers before the Decathlon, they can certainly make that claim after.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a galley-style kitchen with double white sinks and stainless steel appliances.

Carnegie Mellon's kitchen features generously sized appliances. A backlit translucent panel behind the kitchen counter casts a warm glow.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a young woman in an orange blouse talking to several people inside a brightly skylit home.

Karine Marcuso of Team Montréal describes the home to visitors during the public tour hours. The team is proudly representing Canada with a house named Lumen|Essence.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



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October 15, 2007

Photo of a crowd of about 40 people, with about 10 of them applauding with their hands held high. A large banner with the Solar Decathlon name and logo is in the background.

The Darmstadt team reacts with joy on hearing of their first-place finish in the Architecture contest. This contest is worth 200 points, which is the highest point value of any of the contests.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a man in a business suit inspecting louvered shutters, while a woman in a blue T-shirt looks on.

Gregory Kiss, chair of the Architecture Jury, had the honor of announcing the finish order in the Architecture contest. Here, he takes a close look at the louvers on the Darmstadt home.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a house that has louvered shutters on one side, a large panel of vertical plantings on the other side, and PV modules on top.

The Maryland team earns a second-place award in the Architecture contest with their "LEAFHouse." The Architecture Jury lauded the team's use of "rich natural materials and quality of finishes."
(Credit: Richard King/Solar Decathlon)



Photo five young women in red T-shirts walking in procession. One is about to shake the outstretched of a man in a business suit. The Washington Monument is visible in the background.

Members of the Madrid team show their delight at receiving the third-place award in the Architecture contest.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of the interior of a house. A young woman is to one side reaching up and making an adjustment to a shelf. Large blocks and bands of color are part of the décor.

The Madrid house is colorful inside and out. The Architecture Jury commented on the house's wonderful palette of materials.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of about 15 people standing around an island in the kitchen of a house.

The University of Texas at Austin team designed a kitchen that is generously sized, which comes in handy at the Decathlon when so many people want to see it.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a man in a cowboy hat standing behind a model of a house that's on a kitchen counter.

The Texas team uses a model to explain the features of their house, such as details of the construction process and how the PV panels are hinged to the roof.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



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October 16, 2007

Photo of a young woman in a green polo shirt standing at a stove and chopping vegetables.

Last night, the teams began the dinner party activity of the Appliances contest, in which they cook meals and invite their neighbors over for a friendly meal. Here, a member of the Missouri-Rolla team cooks up something special.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a young man in a black T-shirt working on a laptop computer.

John Kucia of the Maryland team takes a moment to check the team's Web site. The Maryland students are elated after winning the Communications contest today.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a young man and woman holding and displaying a brochure

Julian Lupu and Nora Hendrickson of the Santa Clara team show off their handout that describes the house for visitors. Santa Clara placed second in the Communications contest.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of two young women and one young man in blue T-shirts. They are hugging as if in celebration.

Bear hugs all around! Penn State students worked hard on their communications activities and are serious about spreading the word on sustainability. Here, they show their elation at bringing home a third-place finish in that contest.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a house at night with pink light casting a glow on a wall of green plants.

The solar village at night takes on a different appearance, especially when the houses are lit up for the Lighting contest. In this photo, the Carnegie Mellon house looks lovely in the glow cast on the greenscape.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a young man in a red T-shirt describing a house feature to two older gentlemen.

Joe Bissaillon of the University of Cincinnati team answers questions during today's house tours. The living area of Cincinnati's house is particularly airy, because the whole south-facing wall separating it from the courtyard is glass.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a young man in a chef's toque standing in a kitchen. He is visible through the window of the house.

Students on the New York Institute of Technology team really get into the spirit of the dinner party. The teams have a lot of fun meeting each other and breaking bread together.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



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October 17, 2007

Photo of a college-age woman and a young boy sitting at a table, with several people in the background.

Sian Kleindienst of Massachusetts Institute of Technology takes a moment to answer a young boy's questions. The Decathlon is quite a learning experience for children and adults alike.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a house lit up at night.

The Lawrence Institute of Technology house shows off beautifully at night. The house exterior is a rainscreen system made from Skatelite, a product generally used for skateboarding ramps. The material is weatherproof, thin, lightweight, extremely durable, and made of paper—which is both renewable and sustainable.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a man in a blue shirt putting a towel into a washing machine.

Greg Sachs of the New York Institute of Technology knows all about the laundry task of the Appliances contest—he's a veteran of the 2005 Solar Decathlon who has come back for another try this year.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of eight people in black polo shirts. Some of them are holding onto a bar over their heads, with feet dangling.

Members of the Maryland's team enjoy hanging out at the Solar Decathlon during their moment in the sun.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of four people in black polo shirts standing in line leaning on the railing of a deck. The U.S. Capitol Building is visible in the background.

How sweet it is to be on the Maryland team and to lead the Solar Decathlon on day five of the competition!
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of about a dozen people, most of them in orange, long-sleeved shirts, with their arms held high in triumph.

Team Montréal members react to hearing of their third-place finish in the subjective portion of the Lighting contest. At day's end, Montréal ranks seventh in the overall competition.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of the 20 houses of the Solar Decathlon, in a shot taken from high on the Smithsonian Castle.

Richard King directs the Solar Decathlon, which he also enjoys photographing. This shot of the solar village, taken from the roof of the Smithsonian Castle, shows off his work.
(Credit: Richard King/Solar Decathlon)



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October 18, 2007

Photo of six people standing behind a table with a podium. Five of them, including the speaker, are wearing orange polo shirts.

The team from the University of Illinois wins the Market Viability contest today. "Thank you for helping us show the public that these houses are viable," says team member Benjamin Barnes.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of two men in black business suits and red ties sitting down and signing an official-looking document. A woman stands to their right.

From left, DOE Assistant Secretary Alexander Karsner and Spain's Under Secretary of Housing Fernando Magro sign a Memorandum of Understanding to export the Solar Decathlon to Europe, with the first competition scheduled for Madrid in 2010.
(Credit: Richard King/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of the front of a house with pots of gold and burgundy mums in front. An array of black tubes reflect light in the morning sun.

The University of Missouri-Rolla house shows a handsome profile, with the focus of this picture on the evacuated-tube collectors of the solar thermal system.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a woman adjusting a large sign.

Wendy Larsen, a Decathlon organizer from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, changes the scoring leaderboard each morning.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of three people standing in a bedroom. The shot is taken from on high.

House tours for the public are brisk "business as usual" today as visitors come out in full force to tour the University of Colorado house and all the houses at the Decathlon.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of 11 people standing around a contained pool of water that has floating plants.

Wilfredo Rodriguez of Puerto Rico describes the team's grey water pool. Grey water is non-industrial wastewater generated from domestic processes such as washing dishes, laundry, and bathing.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a young man sitting down in a hallway with his feet up on a washing machine and two young men standing and looking down at him. All three are smiling.

Students from Carnegie Mellon visit the Puerto Rico house to share stories-perhaps about how difficult it is dry a dozen fluffy towels, as required for the Appliances contest.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of about 20 people assembled for a group photo on a deck outside of a futuristic-looking home with the Washington Monument in the background.

On this beautiful day at the Decathlon, Georgia Tech students and faculty advisors gather for a team photo on the deck of their home.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



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October 19, 2007

Photo of a large group of people, several in team uniforms and some carrying team banners, walking down the pathway between the solar houses

All 20 of the Solar Decathlon teams form a colorful and joyful procession to the awards ceremony.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of six team members grouped together, with one smiling man holding a silver trophy.

Joy is on the faces of the Darmstadt team as they show off their overall Solar Decathlon first place trophy.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of 18 people in team uniforms kneel in a semi-circle in front of a second place banner.

The Maryland team gathers in front of their Solar Decathlon second place banner.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of 15 people in team uniforms standing around a man in a suit in front of a third place banner.

Team members from Santa Clara University join Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman in front of the banner proclaiming their third place award in the Solar Decathlon.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a large crowd with one man holding up his fingers in a 'V' sign for victory.

The Santa Clara team celebrates their third place announcement by Secretary Bodman in the packed awards ceremony.
(Credit: Kaye Evans-Lutterodt/Solar Decathlon)



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October 20, 2007

Aerial photograph of a long line of people forming a line around a solar house.

People line up to see the overall winner of the 2007 Solar Decathlon, the Darmstadt house, well before official opening time at 10 am.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Aerial photograph of a long line of people forming a line in front of a solar house.

The Maryland house, the second place overall winner in the 2007 Solar Decathlon, also has the public eager to form a line before today's opening.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of three women, with one handing another a potted plant.

The Cornell team began the tradition at the 2005 Solar Decathlon of giving away their beautiful plants to visitors. Carrie Cam with Cornell continues this sharing of their home with a couple of this year's visitors.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a women standing on the entry ramp to a solar house looking down at two stuffed socks sticking out from under the ramp.

A visitor to the house from Kansas wonders about those feet under the ramp; witch feet are those?
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a house with a large wrap-around deck, folding doors opened to let in light, solar panels on the roof, and an educational sign displayed to one side.

Visitors to the 2007 Solar Decathlon during its nine days had the opportunity to vote for their favorite house in a contest sponsored by BP Solar. Today, the votes were tabulated and the University of Maryland won the coveted People's Choice Award.
(Credit: Jim Tetro/Solar Decathlon)



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October 21, 2007

Photo of a man with a hard hat kneeling on the roof of a solar home using a wrench on a solar photovoltaic panel.

A member of Team Montréal disassembles their house's roof-top photovoltaic panels for shipping back to Canada.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of two men with hard hats lifting a lattice-work wooden panel from the side of a solar home.

A screen is removed from the Penn State house's lovely front porch.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a woman in a hard hat on a ladder and a man below her, both working together to remove a longitudinal plastic panel from the side of the solar home.

Georgia Tech's house is also dismantled. Its façade that glowed so wonderfully after dark will be moved to shine again another night.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a solar home with five workers in hard hats standing in front of it.

The beauty of Madrid's home still shines through as team members work on taking apart the deck.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a man in a hard hat on the roof of a solar home, kneeling down and lifting the end of a glass tube.

A member of the Maryland team carefully removes their evacuated tube collectors array, one tube at a time.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



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October 22, 2007

Photo of a solar house showing metal framework; four team members are standing on the ground.

The structural skeleton of Team Montréal's house is revealed as team members peel away the exterior.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a woman sitting in a folding chair between two tractor-trailer trucks, holding a mobile telephone.

A University of Illinois team member takes time to send text messages in the midst of 18-wheelers being used for the move back home.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a man on a ladder reaching up to work on latticework around the edge of the roof of a solar home.

A Darmstadt team member continues disassembly within view of the U.S. Capitol building.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a solar home divided into three cubicle pieces and sitting on blocks.

The colorful University of Cincinnati house is sectioned off for easier shipping by truck back to Ohio.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of four men sitting on the end of a series of four beams. The beams lead underneath a section of their solar home.

University of Missouri-Rolla team members show coordinated teamwork as they use a hand-cranked pulley system to move half of their house into alignment with a trailer. When in place, it will be raised by jacks and moved onto the tractor-trailer rig.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a woman in a hard hat holding a cup of coffee, sitting on the edge of an opening in a partially dismantled solar home.

Sara Klinetob of the Penn State team takes a break in her dismantling duties. Pleased with their very close fourth place finish their first time out, she and other members of the team are already thinking about a 2009 rematch!
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



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October 23, 2007

Photo of a rectangular structure with sparse metal framework; the Washington Monument is in the background.

Only the familiar bright yellow mechanical core of Team Montréal's house remains to be moved.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a solar home module wrapped tightly in plastic.

The Georgia Tech house is neatly wrapped for shipment...now where's the nearest overnight delivery drop off?
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a solar home with a cable attached to the roof; the Washington Monument is in the background.

The lonely core of the MIT house is about to get a lift and head back home to Massachusetts.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a solar home sitting about three feet off the ground on blocks of wood.

The Cornell house is lifted on blocks and waiting for a transfer to a tractor-trailer.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



Photo of a section of a solar house sitting on a trailer, lined up behind four other trucks with house sections on their trailers. The U.S. Capitol building is in the distance

Part of the Universidad de Puerto Rico house waits in line on the Mall with several others, ready for the road.
(Credit: David Hicks/Solar Decathlon)



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