Final Results

The final results of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2009 are presented below. The 2009 Solar Decathlon was held Oct. 9-18 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and challenged 20 student teams to design, build, and operate the most attractive and energy-efficient solar-powered house.

Overall Winners

First Place: Team Germany (Technische Universität Darmstadt)

The 2007 champions did it again! Team Germany focused on producing surplus energy by using the maximum overall building dimensions allowed, applying photovoltaics to every available surface, and pushing the envelope with new technologies. The team walked away with the Net Metering contest and performed well in several others, including Architecture, Lighting Design, Comfort Zone, and Hot Water. Demonstrating that they are true champions, members of Team Germany were extremely gracious in their victory and recognized the work of their peers.

Second Place: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Gable House was one of the first to be assembled and ran like clockwork the entire competition. The team set out to express its regional heritage and sought to create a synergy between old and new. Traditional techniques in homebuilding, along with great advances in technology, blended to create a house that performed exceptionally well in energy efficiency—as demonstrated by the team's results in all the objective contests. Focused on performance, this team also achieved elegant simplicity in design.

Third Place: Team California (Santa Clara University, California College of the Arts)

A winning spirit guided this team throughout the 2009 competition. Ranking in the top three of nearly every contest, Team California also excelled in some of the most prestigious subjective contests. It finished first in both the Architecture and Communications contests, achieved second in Engineering, and tied for third in Market Viability. Beautiful in every respect, Refract House broke out of the box and masterfully executed the melding of interior and exterior spaces while offering a consistent and high-quality learning experience to visitors.

People's Choice Award

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette won the 2009 People's Choice Award for its BeauSoleil house. This award gives visitors the opportunity to vote for the house they like best. With more than 17,000 paper and electronic ballots cast, 2009 visitors overwhelmingly selected BeauSoleil as their favorite.

Final Scores and Standings

For more information about Solar Decathlon 2009 results and rankings, see the final scores and standings.

The scores and standings include:

• Overall scores and standings
• Scores by team
• Scores and standings by contest
• Scores by day.

For more information about the contests and judging criteria, see Contests and Scoring. The complete scoring spreadsheet, including detailed measurement information for each team and contest, is also available (Zip 19.5 MB).