(Credit: Richard King/Solar Decathlon)

The 2009 Solar Decathlon is underway.  Energy efficiency as we know it – upgrading our lights to CFLs and adding insulation to our attics – is only one piece of the puzzle for the twenty teams participating in this year’s competition.  Each of the teams, which hail from universities across the United States, Canada, and Europe are competing to design, build and operate the most attractive and energy-efficient solar-powered house.

Students have spent many months working on their solar houses, finding the best structural shape, the best combination of materials and products, and the best automation and metering systems.  However this is not an exercise in theoretical design; the solar houses are built, tested, modified, tested again, and then shipped across a state, continent to or an ocean.  Their destination was the National Mall in Washington, DC.

The twenty teams had exactly one week to rebuild their houses before the contests begin on October 14.  The  Department of Energy, which is sponsoring the competition, will be judging the homes based on ten categories, including architecture, market viability, engineering, lighting design, and net metering.  As part of the competition, students must perform typical household tasks like cooking and doing laundry in their solar homes.  The winners will have the best combination of aesthetics and performance.  Find out more at solardecathlon.org.

Not only is this an excellent learning opportunity for the students involved, but it makes the potential of zero energy homes visible to the public.  People everywhere are slowly becoming more aware of the need, and the ways, to save energy.  This creates one more opportunity to reinforce the message of efficiency and to educate others that are uniformed.

Electric has the man-stamp of approval: Orange County Choppers, known for their rough-rider custom motorcycles, has built the “first custom electric American chopper.” Commissioned by Siemens, a global electrical technology company, the bike combines Orange County’s usual over-the-top flair with a less-usual electric motor.

Orange County's Smart Chopper

You’ll still stop traffic—you just won’t drown out the “oohs” and “aahs.”

This year, the Smart Chopper will tour the country promoting sustainability and green technology. All it needs is a few sockets along the way: Siemens claims that an 110-volt socket charges the bike in five hours, while a higher-voltage station charges it in as little as one hour. And with a top speed of 100mph, the bike might gain the approval of other riders on the road.

This electric bike showpiece is just one, albeit flashy, tribute of Siemens’ dedication to efficient power. The corporation has also pledged as whole to reduce its CO2, water and waste footprint by 20% in the next five years. Though cool-looking, the Smart Chopper seems like proof to me that “fun” technologies like motorcycles don’t have to die out in the new era of sustainability, but evolve instead. Bring on the electric snowmobile.