The Solar Decathlon program, sponsored by the US Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, is a global competition that challenges students to design and build functioning, marketable, solar-powered houses. The program began in 2002. UT entered a proposal and was chosen in April 2010 as one of the 20 teams to build its house on the National Mall in Washington, DC, in 2011. The 20 teams included 16 teams from US colleges and universities and teams from Belgium, Canada, New Zealand, and China. In the competition, teams competed to design, build, and operate the most affordable, attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house.
Hosted by the US Department of Energy, the Solar Decathlon program highlights affordable homes that combine energy-efficient construction and appliances with renewable energy systems currently available. UT’s team, whose design built upon traditional building strategies and the history of energy research in Tennessee, was entitled the “Living Light” team. Through the College of Architecture and Design, a fund-raising effort was undertaken to finance the construction, transport, and installation of the house on the national mall.
The house placed eighth in the competition, placing first in the Energy Balance contest, garnering perfect marks for achieving a net-zero energy balance throughout the competition. Following the competition, the house was on display at the UT Gardens, beginning in November and December 2011, and was one of 17 land-grant university projects at the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival in Washington, DC. The house then toured Tennessee before returning to the UT Gardens, awaiting a permanent location. In its tours, it traveled nearly six thousand miles and hosted more than fifty thousand visitors.
In May 2014 UT donated the house to the Children’s Museum in Oak Ridge, as its permanent location, where plans were for it to be used for tours, farm-to-table cooking demonstrations, and some occasional meetings.