The Solar Decathlon is an educational project of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Comfort Zone - Solar Decathlon 2007

(100 points)

The Solar Decathlon teams design their houses to remain a steady, uniform, comfortable temperature and humidity throughout. Full points for this contest are awarded for maintaining narrow temperature (72°F/22.2°C to 76°F/24.4°C) and relative humidity (40% to 55%) ranges inside the houses.

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Photo of a group of visitors inside Team Austin's kitchen, which is filled with sunshine that reflects against a gleaming wooden ceiling panel. Lights hang down above a wooden island that contains a stovetop, pots and pans, and a basket of fresh fruit.

The University of Texas at Austin team designed a kitchen that is generously sized, which comes in handy at the Decathlon when so many people want to see it.