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This is part of a series of stories by student Ana Klein, a member of the UNLV Solar Decathlon team. Through the fall, she is chronicling the team’s progress in building their entry and competing in the prestigious contest.

After about 18 months of designing and building DesertSol, UNLV’s entry in the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2013 left campus Friday evening morning, traveling 263 miles to Irvine, Calif. for the competition.

The house was divided into two modules to be transported on a large chassis on the back of two semi-trucks. Two more large trucks will follow with equipment, tools, furniture and other materials. The trip to Irvine, which normally takes four hours, will take the team nearly eight hours to complete.

For the next 12 days, core team members will live in Irvine and set up the home for the contest at Orange County Great Park.

The contest will take place from Oct. 3-13. Public exhibit days are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 3-6 and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct 10-13.

Take a peek at the latest video from Team Las Vegas, an as-built video walkthrough of DesertSol.

The video was produced by UNLV student Rakitha Perera. In the video, Team Las Vegas member Heather Holmstrom tours viewers through the home and highlights the unique features that DesertSol offers its inhabitants.

The Solar Decathlon is an international competition with the goal of educating the public about energy-saving residential designs. It requires collegiate teams to design, build and maintain a sustainable solar-powered home. This is a student-run project with guidance and support from faculty members, industry mentors and community supporters.

Follow the team on and .