LOS GATOS, Calif., Oct. 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Tigo Energy, the smart module market leader, today announced the support of two teams in the 2013 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. The program challenges collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive. The winner of the competition is the team that best blends affordability, consumer appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency.

"We are excited to use next generation Smart Module technology in the design of our home," said Jake Gallau, Project Manager of team Santa Clara's Radiant House. "We have a difficult challenge to design a livable house that is cost effective and entirely powered by the sun. Smart Modules help us accomplish the flexibility to incorporate solar into the aesthetic design of our house while also maximizing the efficiency of our system."

Rob Best, Design and Construction Manager for Stanford's Start.Home entry added, "We are very excited to use Tigo Energy's Smart Module technology which is going to give us a unique advantage to make the most of Start.Home's thin film panels. The technology is one of the components that helps ensure that the Start.Home's Core module is as efficient as possible."

This year's competition will be held at Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California from from October 3 - 13, 2013. This is the sixth U.S. Decathlon and the first year it will be held in California.

"We are really pleased to be able to give back and support the student teams in this year's competition," said James Bickford, head of OEM Channels for Tigo Energy. "These students represent the future of our industry in both the innovations that they drive as well as the engineers, architects, and professionals that will join the solar industry after graduation. Many of Tigo Energy's young employees are alums of the Solar Decathlon so we watch the homes go from design to reality with extra enthusiasm." 

Tigo Energy congratulates all teams participating in this year's event and encourages anyone that is able to attend the event in Irvine to do so.

For more information on the Solar Decathlon please visit: http://www.solardecathlon.gov/

To learn more about Tigo Energy and our partners please visit Tigoenergy.com

About Tigo Energy

Tigo Energy provides Smart Module technology for the solar industry. The Silicon Valley Company utilizes a patented impedance matching optimizer technology to increase energy production, simplify design and installation, improve fire safety, and ensure the highest uptime and reliability with cloud-based monitoring. Tigo Energy's chip-based solution provides the industry's lowest part count, highest reliability, and most efficient Smart Module solution in the world. Follow us at Tigoenergy.com

SOURCE Tigo Energy

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