Austrian Team Wins U.S. Department of Energy Solar Competition

Employing creative ventilation and natural wood, a team from Austria won the 2013 Solar Decathlon, a biennial competition for solar houses sponsored by U.S.

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Team Austria Solar Decathlon House

Solar Decathlon Team Austria
Department of Energy. The winning design features large living spaces with natural ventilation that helps the house maintain comfortable temperature and humidity levels, and is 96 percent wood. “It was important to us to use wood, because we have a lot of forests in Austria,” team member Philipp Klebert told Fast Co.Exist. “We wanted to make a statement about sustainability in that respect.” Floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall sliding-glass doors, combined with an open floor plan, cool the house quickly and with minimal energy consumption. Among other guidelines, all Solar Decathlon entries must produce as much solar energy as they consume, and houses are scored in 10 categories ranging from affordability to home entertainment. One of the team’s sponsors is planning to market the design, perhaps as a self-assembly kit, Fast Co.Exist reports.