A team from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo placed third at the U.S. Department of Energy’s biennial solar decathlon in Irvine on Oct. 17.

For the competition, about 100 Cal Poly students designed and built a house that was powered only by solar energy.

The Department of Energy held the competition to accelerate the adoption of energy efficient designs and products by educating students about the benefits. Designs for the competition also had to show the public other ways that sustainable living could be practiced.

Cal Poly built the house using a $50,000 grant from the Department of Energy. Students and faculty also raised an additional $650,000 to pay for the project. The competition started on Oct. 8, and formally ended on Oct. 18.

Cal Poly competed against 13 other schools from across the country. The Department of Energy only named the top three finishers. Cal Poly also finished third the only other time it competed in the event in 2005.

• Contact Philip Joens at pjoens@pacbiztimes.com.