Since its beginnings in 2002, 224 collegiate teams from San Jose to Beijing – totaling more than 32,000 participants worldwide – have undertaken the most rigorous project of their academic careers: designing and building a solar-powered, energy efficient house. The flagship of these six award-winning, global competitions is the biennial U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, fetching entries that are both cutting edge and appealing, to meet the energy demands of the average American family – with enough surplus to power an electric vehicle.