October 12, 2007 1:08 PM PDT
Members of the Georgia Institute of Technology's team actually invented something new for the Solar Decathlon competition: a system to cool off solar-photovoltaic panels.
By spraying mist onto the panels (the water is stored rain water), they can increase the efficiency of converting daylight to electricity.
The white panels on this roof and the shelving on the walls of the building are there to provide shading (as do the solar panels). That's important because the roof and walls are made of a translucent material called an aerogel.
The aerogels are very good insulators to keep heat or cool air in. But in the summer months, shading is needed to prevent the house from getting too hot--and consuming excess electricity.
Photo by Martin LaMonica/CNET News.com
Caption by Martin LaMonica
