Franca Trubiano (right) explains solar decathlon model to architecture chair Tom Galloway.

An interdisciplinary team of Georgia Tech students and faculty unveiled its design for the Institute's entry in Solar Decathlon 2007 at the College of Architecture in mid-June.

Tech was among 20 collegiate teams from the United States, Canada and Europe selected in March by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to design and develop an 800-square-foot energy-efficient dwelling that provides enough electricity to meet the needs of an urban family using only the power of the sun.

The Department of Energy awards each participating team $100,000 — about one-third of the total cost — with the participants responsible for raising the remaining money needed for the project and competition.

The house will be built on campus, then disassembled and transported to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in October 2007 and reassembled in a solar village. In a week of competition, the houses will be judged on energy efficiency and production, architectural integrity, livability and aesthetic appeal.

Tech's team includes students from the College of Architecture, the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the School of Biology and the Institute for Sustainable Technology and Development and will by led by architecture professors Ruchi Choudhary, Franca Trubiano and Chris Jarrett.

"The competition is split into two components — objective and subjective," Trubiano said. "The objective component is decided by a system of monitors placed throughout the house that measures the efficiency of the entire power system and feeds that data into NREL's main computer for assessment.

"The subjective categories are judged by selected professionals — architects, engineers, builders, marketing specialists and designers. Each house must be able to generate enough solar energy to light, heat and cool the house, provide hot water, operate all appliances and electronics, support a home-based business and operate an electric car."

Although the teams won't live in the houses, they will be judged on performance of daily chores such as washing dishes and cooking meals. They will also be judged on documentation of the project and use of communication outlets such as Web sites and newsletters to educate the public about design, energy efficiency and solar energy. The team that scores the most points overall wins.

"After we learned that we were one of the 20 teams selected, we divided the team into seven groups — each assigned to create its own concept for the house," Jarrett said. "After several days of intense work, the teams presented their proposals to an outside jury and the jury pared it to four houses. In the next round of judging, there was no clear winner so a decision was made to create a hybrid that emphasized the strengths of each house design. It allows everyone to take some ownership."