Every year, the US' Department of Energy holds a solar decathlon; a competition for students to design and build energy-efficient houses which are powered by the sun.
College teams spend almost two years working on their houses, and 2015's overall winner has just been crowned.
The winning team is provided to produce a house which:
- Is affordable, attractive, and easy to live in
- Maintains comfortable and healthy indoor environmental conditions
- Supplies energy for cooking, cleaning, entertainment, and commuting
- Provides adequate hot water
- Produces as much or more energy than it consumes
Although Stevens Institute of Technology won first place, the other entries were pretty darn impressive..