LEAFHouse embraces the Chesapeake Bay watershed context for a smart, adaptable, resource-efficient home powered by renewable energy.

The design represents the elegant marriage of biological knowledge and cutting-edge technology. Our adaptable resource-efficient house demonstrates what happens when bio-inspired design savvy, traditional know-how, and cutting-edge technology join as integral parts of a sustainable lifestyle.

Our inspiration, the leaf, is nature's mechanism for converting sunlight into energy. LEAFHouse makes solar power central to the high quality environmentally sustainable lifestyle of the 21st century. Man-made photovoltaic (PV) panels copy this natural wonder, converting current solar income into usable energy. “LEAF” stands for “Leading Everyone to an Abundant Future” because we believe that solar energy is key to a high quality of life. LEAFHouse celebrates nature's abundance while having a light touch.

LEAFHouse is a natural extension of the University of Maryland's history of success in integrated, innovative design. For the third time, Maryland is a participant in the 2007 Solar Decathlon, organized by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Placing fourth in 2002, and winning the People's Choice Award in 2005, the Maryland team looks forward to the 2007 event.

The Solar Decathlon is an unparalleled opportunity to educate future leaders in the process of integrated design; to inform the public about environmentally sound, sustainable construction; and to promote the role of efficiency and solar technologies in achieving energy independence. We are changing the rules by which buildings are designed and built, showcasing the tools available to do so NOW.