Every two years, the U.S. Department of Energy sponsors a competition called the solar decathalon on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Teams from universities around the country and across the world design low-cost, low-emissions, low-energy-use, architecturally pleasing homes, then bring them to the Mall to assemble them. For two consecutive weekends, folks like you and me can go and tour the innovative shelters. It's really an inspiring experience, and quite popular for that reason.

Here's some photos from last weekend. If you're in the DC area, the homes are open again this Thursday (tomorrow) through Sunday. You should check it out.

Labels: dc, energy, environmental, sun