Solar Power Homes Are The Wave of the Future

As more people see the benefits of solar power homes, we will be using energy harnessed from the sun in ever increasing ways. The recently held Solar Decathlon gave the public a peek at the latest solar technology. You could measure public interest by the hour long lines of people waiting to get into some of the solar homes.

The U.S. Department of Energy sponsors the Solar Decathlon every other year as a showcase for new solar technology. The competition is open to universities world-wide. Each home is completely designed and built by college students.

The goal of the Decathlon is to inspire new ideas and designs for completely solar powered homes. Architecture and engineering students begin the project up to two years prior to a competition. The top 20 homes are transported to Washington, D.C. where they are set up and opened for public tours.

While the competition does foster and inspire new developments in solar technology, perhaps its most important accomplishment is to show the masses the benefits of having a solar power home. Many people still think of solar power as experimental or a way to make do with less. Anyone taking a tour of the latest entries in the Solar Decathlon will soon realize that living on solar power does not have to equal sacrifice.

The rules of the competition say that the teams must live in their homes like normal Americans while being completely off the grid and fully solar reliant. Specifically they have to generate enough solar power to cover an average comfort level. This includes maintaining a temperature between 70 and 78 degrees, taking 4 showers weekly, cooking, washing dishes, laundry, 5 hours of computer use each day and 6 daily hours of television.

Not only did all 20 teams reach these goals, many exceeded expectations. Houses had luxuries like home entertainment systems, hot tubs and Subzero refrigerators. The teams had to fulfill all those energy needs from solar power as well as have enough excess energy to recharge a two-seater electric car. They definitely did a great job of highlighting what solar power homes could be like.

To further the environmental benefits of solar power homes, many of the houses incorporated other environmentally friendly features as well. Most used reclaimed or recycled materials like demolition salvage in their designs. One home even featured furniture created from compressed fly ash, a by-product of coal-burning power plants. Others used beams and even plywood made from bamboo, which grows four times faster than traditional hardwoods.

Some people refer to the Solar Decathlon as a public relations ploy on the part of the Department of Energy. They say this because many other countries are far ahead of the U.S. in creating public policies that encourage greater use of solar power. Whether this is the case or not, the competition highlights the best of solar technology and shows the public how comfortable solar power homes can be.

Enter your search terms Submit search form