U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon

The Solar Decathlon brings 20 college and university teams in a competition to design, build, and operate the most attractive and energy-efficient solar-powered house. This is an event to which the public is invited to observe the powerful combination of solar energy, energy efficiency, and the best in home design. 

Teams from each of the schools compete in ten contests.  All the contests are aimed  at using and saving energy.  Here is a list of the ten contest and their point-value: 

Architecture— 100 points (subjective)

Market Viability— 100 points (subjective)

Engineering— 100 points (subjective)

Lighting Design— 75 points (subjective)

Communications— 75 points (subjective)

Comfort Zone— 100 points (objective)

Hot Water— 100 points (objective)

Appliances— 100 points (objective)

Home Entertainment— 100 points (objective)

Net Metering— 150 points (objective) 

The houses are 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, and, balance energy production and consumption.

Contests are scored based on measuring performance such as temperatures and meeting certain level-requirements, still others use jurors who are experts in fields such as architecture and engineering, and still other contests involve living in the houses by its designers, the students of each school.