Greening up the CU solar house

The CU solar house goes green -- literally.

I knew there was something different about the University of Colorado’s Solar Decathlon house when I stopped by the Green Frontier Fest Sunday to check it out. The house looked better than it ever had, but I couldn’t quite place my finger on the change. I made it all the way inside before project manager Chad Corbin asked me: "What do you think of the color?"

I stepped back outside and admired what a fresh coat of paint can do. For the October 2007 competition on the National Mall that I wrote about in the Westword feature article accessible here, the house had been a brave – and some on the team argued tacky – combination of orange and turquoise. Now the orange was gone from the shipping containers that make the house, replaced with a trendy olive hue that is a vast improvement.

Come see the color and stay to check out all of this zero-energy home’s innovative features. Xcel Energy, which owns the house and will eventually put it on permanent display, is keeping it open for tours throughout the convention. You can’t miss it under the dancing aliens outside the Denver Performing Arts Complex. In the meantime, click "More" to see additional photos. -- Jessica Centers

In the shadow of the aliens.

A different angle on solar energy.

The Solar House the way it was. To a slideshow of other images from the 2007 Solar Decathalon, click here.