Registration has opened for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) annual Race to Zero competition in which students and faculty teams from U.S. and Canadian colleges are asked to develop high-performance houses that meet the department’s “zero energy ready home” specifications.

Twenty-eight teams took part in the first year of the competition, presenting their designs to a panel of experts at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado in April.

Teams are given a specific design problem which requires them to redesign an existing floor plan or create a new house design that meets program requirements.

Teams can register online.

The DOE says that the competition is aimed at providing the next generation of engineers, architects, and construction managers with the skills they need to blend advanced home designs and the principles of building science. The competition ends next April with student representatives presenting their ideas to a panel of experts at NREL.