WASHINGTON -- The Technische Universitat Darmstadt, Germany, sponsored by Bosch, won the U.S. Department of Energy's third Solar Decathlon held in Washington from October 12-19, 2007. The biennil competition brought together 20 college and university teams from across the U.S., Canada, Germany, Spain and Puerto Rico in a competition to design, build and operate the most attractive, effective and energy-efficient solar-powered house.

The Technische Universitat Darmstadt team showcased German technologies and materials, including German oak, in their solar house. The team collaborated with German companies and manufacturers, including Bosch, which provided three-month internships for two of the Darmstadt students. The internships provided an opportunity for students to test how well the systems could provide hot water and climate control for the house.

The house will return to Germany to be used as a solar power plant, as part of the university's project to develop a Solar Campus ("Solare Lichtwiese"), through which all buildings on campus will be equipped with building-integrated photovoltaics, feeding electricity into the German power grid.