Solar Decathlon 2010: Competing For The Greenest House (PHOTOS)

From Inhabitat:

Ready for another exciting competition in the world of prefab solar houses? The 2010 Solar Decathlon Europe has kicked off in Madrid, Spain, marking the first time the competition has been hosted in Europe! Seventeen teams from around the globe are battling it out in the center of the city to see who has the most efficient solar powered and eco-friendly house. Just like the competition in Washington DC, the teams will be graded on their ability to minimize their energy use, innovative architecture and engineering, sustainability, and more. Read on for our exclusive photos and a first look at the most exciting houses in this year's competition!

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The Fablab House from the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia is on their home turf for this competition and one of its most striking differences from the other houses is its departure from rectangular home. Solar panels completely cover the curvaceous roof and is built off the ground for a boost of natural ventilation.

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The Fablab House from the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia is on their home turf for this competition and one of its most striking differences from the other houses is its departure from rectangular home. Solar panels completely cover the curvaceous roof and is built off the ground for a boost of natural ventilation.

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Comments

[jeh3454]

06:51 AM on 06/28/2010

I want one of these homes and the interior from emanuelsecostore.com

[billshut]

01:08 AM on 06/27/2010

I passed on every single one simply because, though exterior pictures are nice, I plan on living inside my future home. How do the spaces feel? Does the building function for living as opposed to simply energy usage? Is it cold in the winter or hot in the summer? How long might I expect the materials to last? What about maintenance costs for the structure as well as systems?

Outside of the the bamboo sushi hut and the blue and white fast food box the designs are intriguing, just need a lot more information.

[Weathermaker]

02:20 PM on 06/26/2010

Let me get this straight: all these people concerned about greenhouse gasses shipped entire houses from all over the world to Madrid to promote their energy saving products? Why didn't they build them locally and make some poster presentations, scaled down versions or something?

[yamaniyama]

07:25 PM on 06/25/2010

Now I'd like to see these homes go to market and residential developers starting to use them.

[aligatorhardt]

06:55 PM on 06/25/2010

Any house can be a solar house, just put PV units on top. Curved structures don't utilize space very well and increase costs greatly, but they do have an intriguing appearance. This is more gimmick than real solutions to housing needs. Fun for architects.

[Bruce Gray]

09:32 AM on 06/25/2010

My house is made of mud and the roof is dirt and sod. It requires no summer cooling, heats well in the winter with a little bit of wood and is over 150 years old. Green is not really new, just something we forgot was important.

[tjconkster]

09:37 AM on 06/25/2010

Adobe? just wondering...

[Bruce Gray]

10:50 AM on 06/25/2010

Yes, adobe. Made from the ground the house sits on. Maybe not suitable for all locations but great for the southwest.

[InYourWorld]

09:46 PM on 06/27/2010

I live in the desert of the 4 corners. The Anazazis (or Ancestral Puebloans) were building passive solar homes 600 years ago. I have hiked to remote ruins on a brisk winter day and spend the day shirtless on the rocks around the ruins. I have also been to many of the same ruins in july and be amazed at how much cooler and shaded they were.

I have many friends that have simple passive solar homes that are incredibly efficient and look pretty conventional. No one I know lives in one of these crazy looking houses in the article.

I love adobe, it is such a great way to build. Add in heat pumps, solar water heating, and heat sinks and you have an awesome climate in your house for cheap whether is is 20 below or 100 degrees!

[xiaodashan]

08:07 AM on 06/25/2010

This is surely the future.... as envisaged in Woody Allen's 'Sleeper'.We just need giant vegetables now.

[GrownupStewie]

04:58 AM on 06/25/2010

if those homes don't scream warm and comforting, then i don't know what does!!!!!

the only one i actually like is the bamboo house...its actually adorable in a gilligans island sort of way

[Rendon76]

11:29 PM on 06/24/2010

I live in Texas... solar panel need to become dirt cheap so we can all live in one of those. If not to fully power at least to partially power :)

[m2b]

12:59 AM on 06/25/2010

Solar panels have come down in price significantly since Germany began investing massively in solar energy. They are more efficient now than they were 10 years ago too. Here in Aus we get a government rebate if we install a solar system and feed the electricity back into the grid.

[tjconkster]

09:39 AM on 06/25/2010

Now wait just one minute...Solar is not cheap, wind is not functional....and fuels like biodiesel are impractical.....I know this is true because the tro!!s have been posting it here for ever!!!!

(snark)

[worker beenumbed]

10:37 PM on 06/24/2010

Put wheels on the house from catalonia.Looks like a covered wagon.Ilile living in a box shape

[VikingQuest]

10:10 PM on 06/24/2010

It's amazing to come on the "green" blog they have here at HuffPost . . . it's like everyone here lives in fantasy land where solar power, winde power and biofuels actually work or make sense.

[lespool]

12:31 AM on 06/25/2010

As if the oceans filled with fossil fuels do.

[Tommygun264]

12:44 AM on 06/25/2010

I don't know about "winde" power, but here in Hawaii, other places in the US, and all over the planet, wind and solar ARE being used. Hawaii imports ZERO oil from the mainland or anywhere else for generating the electricity that powers my home and my electric car. Non-toxic flammable garbage is separated out and incinerated in a close-filtered system to generate electricity as well, and tidal and wave-action generation facilities are currently under development.

Perhaps if you weren't high on oil fumes and blinded by coal dust, you could see the real world that is rapidly leaving you and the 19th century technology you rely on in the past.

[TeeFry]

09:47 PM on 06/24/2010

I love solar and wind and wave energy and all that but ALL the work and plans and talk won't do anything until we slow down (and reduce) the number of humans on the planet. Free birth control to everybody. Charge people impact fees for kids instead of giving tax deductions. Substantially reduce meat consumption (a huge use of water, grain, and fuel). ETC ETC

[VikingQuest]

09:46 PM on 06/24/2010

And people wonder why solar power and green homes are taken as a complete joke . . .

[Tommygun264]

12:45 AM on 06/25/2010

They're laughing at YOU.

[m2b]

01:03 AM on 06/25/2010

What I find funny is how people get so mad at solar panels, you are so funny!

[Palaver]

09:25 PM on 06/24/2010

Some of those homes look like little sweat boxes. I'd separate the solar panels from the homes and move them under some trees.

Sometimes shade--and the water transpiration from plants--is a much more efficient cooling system than a solar powered air conditioner.

[poaster]

09:05 PM on 06/24/2010

While innovative, I'd be curious to see how it would hold up with straight line winds or tropical storm like weather.

[TeeFry]

09:42 PM on 06/24/2010

exactly. And what about hail storms? Is there any solar that can stand up to that?

[Tommygun264]

12:47 AM on 06/25/2010

Have you ever heard of clear plexiglass? If laminated glass can stop bullets, it can stop hail.

[m2b]

01:07 AM on 06/25/2010

Maybe the "solar" that has been in operation in many countries around the world for many years have proven that yes, they will stand up to that.

[Tommygun264]

12:50 AM on 06/25/2010

Rooftop maglev vertical axis wind turbines, which take up about as much space as a rooftop central a/c compressor can generate electricity from breezes as low as 5 miles per hour.

[Marlyn]

06:03 PM on 07/04/2010

The Maglev model supposedly used in China has no scientific model or base to follow, with a non-public website and no viable blueprints or real use, and it was soon discovered to be a hoax. (Wikipedia)