Solar Decathlon 2005 Winner: Colorado

The University of Colorado, Denver and Boulder, successfully defended their championship and took first place in Solar Decathlon 2005. Cornell University was the second place team, and California Polytechnic State University finished third. I wasn't all that impressed by the architecture of the Colorado house — it seemed clunky compared to some of the other houses there.

But apparently the students used the poor weather to their advantage, developing a strategy to gain points in the competition by using the energy they managed to collect on a series of very cloudy days to keep their car charged. By driving more than any other team, Colorado won the Getting Around Contest. Colorado also placed first in the Communications and Documentation Contests, and second in the Appliances Contest.