Trends in solar-powered design for homes

I was lucky to be in DC to attend the Solar Decathlon, where for three weeks in October, 20 teams of college and university students competed to design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house (hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy).

I was not able to go into all houses, but here are some of the trends I observed:

Conserving Space

Movable furniture--A table that slides off the top of the kitchen counter to make space for when it is dinner time. I also saw appliances that were embedded in the walls (like the TVs) to make the room appear larger.

An external kitchen--the detail on the left is a faucet for whenever you are hosting Bar BQs.

Performance Analytics

Touch screen technology that allows the home owner to see and control the temperature of the home, the lights, etc. As well as a syncronization option with the iPhone to check out how much energy you have saved, or even "over produced".

Active Landscapes

Shallow ponds surrounding the house with plants that clean gray water (soapy water from the shower, or sink for instance) for later use in toilets. And one of my favorites, a hanging herb garden that also served as decoration for the house.

Tubular solar panels

Something that I did not like on a lot of the houses was the use of solar panels to cover the facade of the home--which made them look like they were spaceships. One particular home used tubular shaped solar panels and tucked them into the skylights. Surprisingly, they let light come through just as if there was an open space.

Want to get more ideas for your home or social enterprise? I would definitely recommend checking out the virtual tour of the houses.