Some 20,000 people showed up to tour these designs For over a decade, the U.S. Department of Energy?s Solar Decathlon competition has challenged college students around the world to build the most energy-efficient solar-powered house. The biennial event is impressive for sure (just look at last year?s winning design), but it?s also pretty darn expensive, with schools commonly spending upwards of $250,000 for each project and sometimes exceeding the million-dollar mark.
After attending the two most recent Solar Decathlons, Suzette Bienvenue, an energy education specialist at the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), was inspired to create a similar event that would be accessible to all kinds of schools, including local community colleges with more limited budgets. The solution" Tiny houses. Typically measuring between 100 and 400 square feet (as opposed to the thousand-square-footers commonly seen at the Solar Decathlon), tiny houses can easily be built for under $50,000. Add in the general popularity of these micro dwellings right now, and Bienvenue has a workable idea: a collegiate competition loosely modeled after the Solar Decathlon, but using tiny houses as the vehicle to explore sustainable building techniques and energy-saving strategies.

Photo by Joanne H. Lee/Santa Clara University
The team from Santa Clara University in front of their entry, the rEvolve House

SMUD?s Tiny House Competition, open to any university or ...