I had a chance to visit the National Mall and to see the houses built by university teams around the world competing in the Solar Decathlon sponsored by the Department of Energy. These houses were built to be entirely self sustainable, without generators or batteries.
The houses were required to:
- Be attractive and easy to live in
- Maintain comfortable and healthy indoor environmental conditions
- Feature appealing and adequate lighting
- Supply energy to household appliances for cooking and cleaning
- Power home electronics
- Provide hot water
- Balance energy production and consumption
If you have a chance check it out when it is back in DC in 2 years!
