Engineering systems in the Re_home: A net-zero, solar-powered house for the U.S. Department of Energy's 2011 Solar Decathlon

This paper focuses on the engineering systems designed for a solar-powered, net-zero energy house created for the 2011 Solar Decathlon. The house was built by a group of students and professors from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who were among twenty collegiate teams chosen to compete in the biennial Solar Decathlon competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy. Detailed information is given about the design choices made while an evaluation of the photovoltaic system installed on the house is presented.