Boston's Curio.House: Solar Decathlon

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Team Boston emphasized the house's mechanicals by placing them front and center on the mall.

Team Boston's Curio.House is best seen from far away—by the light of a smartphone. To make energy-use data available to the homeowner, team Boston—with students from Tufts University and Boston Architectural College—created a Web-based energy-monitoring system, in which 24-7 real-time feedback helps users to adjust their energy habits (leaving lights off, turning the heat down) even when they are away.

To convert its 6.4-kilowatt photovoltaic system from DC to AC energy for home use, team Boston used a number of micro-inverters, attached to each individual PV panel rather than a system wide hookup. "Regular photovoltaics and inverters are like a string of Christmas tree lights—when one goes out, they all go," says Stephen Messenger, assistant project director of the team. Boston instead used micro-inverters, which control each panel separately, and can be upgraded one panel at a time rather than as an entire system. "With micro-inverters, every panel is wired in parallel, they're in communication, and they can be expanded without scrapping your whole system," he says.

Optimal photovoltaic energy produced per year: 8800 kilowatt-hours.

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