For the new two weeks, the National Mall in Washington, D.C., has been turned into a residential development to showcase the best solar homes available in the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon competition.University teams from around the country as well as teams from Germany and Spain have spent over two years building solar-powered houses. Like the decathlon at track & field competitions, the contest has 10 "events," or areas that the house are judged on: architecture, market viability, engineering, lighting design, communications, comfort zone, hot water, appliances, home entertainment, and net metering.
The purpose of the competition is to promote the world's growing need to find ways to harness and use alternative energies. For more info on the Solar Decathlon, check out this story from CNN.
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