German Team Shines In Solar Decathlon

WASHINGTON, DC (USATODAY) -- The U.S. Department of Energy announced today that Team Germany is the winner of this year's Solar Decathlon, in which 20 teams of college students from the USA, Europe and Canada competed to design the best solar house.

The German team scored 908.29 out of 1,000 possible points. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign came in second, with 897.30 points and Team California placed third, with 863.08 points.

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Team Germany, from Technische Universität Darmstadt, created a two-story cube house covered in solar panels. Inside was a single, multi-function area with furniture and appliances that fold away or have multiple purposes.

The house produced more energy than it consumed throughout the contest, even during three days of rain, earning it a crucial 150 points in the contest. Team Germany was the only team to earn the full points in this area of judging, putting it in the lead. The extra energy the house produced was pumped into the energy grid of a Washington-area power company.

Twenty college teams assembled their solar-powered houses this month on the National Mall. The competition challenged the teams to create houses that produced as much energy as they consumed and were aesthetically pleasing.

The competitors were judged on architecture, viability, engineering, lighting design, communication, hot water systems, temperature, appliances, home entertainment and net energy production.