At an event today in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the 20 collegiate teams selected to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2013 and unveiled the competition's location, the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California. The 20 teams from colleges and universities across the United States and from around the world will now begin a two-year process to build solar-powered, highly energy-efficient homes that combine affordability, consumer appeal and design excellence. Throughout the two-year process, the teams will design, construct, and test their homes before reassembling them at the Solar Decathlon 2013 competition site. As part of the Solar Decathlon, teams compete in ten different categories—ranging from best architecture and engineering to energy production for heating and cooling—while gaining invaluable real-world experience in a growing global industry. [More]

With the fateful transition to cooler weather and Halloween just upon us, it is important to remember some key tips when preparing to have the most energy-efficient Halloween possible. From lighting, to pumpkin usage to heat insulation, there is something each of us can do to ensure minimal energy waste and maximum efficiency this October 31st. Here are a few ideas for a Happy Hallogreen:

Control your lighting – If you choose to stay in and hand out candy to trick-or-treaters, keep your energy usage down by turning the lights off in your house for the evening. Try using candles instead (pumpkin spice scented!) to illuminate the house and keep energy and spookiness alive. [More]

This week, Andrea talked about insulating her water heater tank in preparation for cooler weather (of course, that's something you can do any time of year to save money and energy at home). She also listed many other ways to reduce your water heating costs.

Erin blogged about something we don't often think about: the historical perspective of using renewable energy. For example, Leonardo da Vinci had designed a solar powered water heater among other things. As for geothermal energy, archaeological evidence shows that the first human use of geothermal resources in North America occurred more than 10,000 years ago. [More]

One of the benefits of living in the Nation’s capital is direct access to so many great museums. From outdoor works of art at the Sculpture Garden to live butterflies at the National History museum—there’s something out there to spark your interest and feed your curiosity.

My personal favorite is the National Gallery of Art—there you can take free guided tours almost any day of the week. On a recent tour, a guide explained the significance and history of Ginevra de’ Benci—the only portrait by Leonardo da Vinci in the Western Hemisphere. [More]

Solar Decathlon 2011 ran from Sept. 23 - Oct. 2, and the event was a great success! This week we highlighted a story from the Solar Decathlon News Blog, which announced Appalachian State University as the winner of the People's Choice award. Drew gave us a thoughtful recap of the event and reminded us why DOE sponsors this bi-annual event:  Because the results can transform the world by using today's renewable technology to build the houses of tomorrow. [More]

If you were in Washington, DC, this past week, you probably heard about or even attended our biannual Solar Decathlon. This event started in 2002—one month after I started working at the Department of Energy, as a matter of fact—and has just completed its fifth iteration. What began as fourteen schools (well, really thirteen, since one never completed the event) building solar-powered pint-size houses on the National Mall has become an international happening; this year, we had teams from China, Belgium, New Zealand, and Canada competing against teams from Maryland (the winner, by the way), New York, New Jersey, TWO teams from Florida, Virginia and more. [More]