Robert Barker/University Photography

The Cornell Solar Decathlon's award-winning solar house is on display on the Ag Quad.

To give everyone an equal chance for a place in the sun, Cornell University will hold a public auction to sell off its Solar Decathlon House, second-place winner in the U.S. Department of Energy's 2005 international competition. The auction for the solar-powered, 640-square-foot home will begin Friday, April 7, at 12:05 p.m. on the Ag Quad, where the house is temporarily on display.

Open house is slated for April 1 and 2, 1 to 3 p.m., as well as Friday, April 7, 10 a.m. to noon, just before the sale.

The 2007 Solar Decathlon Team, which is starting to design its house for the 2007 competition in Washington, D.C., will sponsor a reception in the solar house immediately after the auction.

Menasse and Son auctioneers of Whitney Point, N.Y., will conduct the auction.

"Our original intent was to sell the property in the traditional manner and offer it for $150,000," said Thomas P. LiVigne, manager of Cornell's Real Estate Department. "However, we have had such an overwhelming response to our initial correspondence that we have decided to auction the property. It is our belief that this will be the fairest method to sell this prize-winning property."

Proceeds will go toward paying off bills incurred by the Cornell 2005 Solar Decathlon Team in building the house. The house features a 6.1 kilowatt solar array consisting of 110-watt General Electric photovoltaic panels, a Sunda solar hot water system, Trane Heat pump, radiant heat floors, General Electric top-of-the-line appliances, a 37-inch JVC flat-panel TV, Corian countertops, bamboo cabinetry and flooring and custom-made furniture.

The winning bidder will be responsible for the cost of moving the house, estimated at about $30,000 (including setting the house on its new foundation), LiVigne said. All the house needs, he said, is a foundation, plumbing hookup to municipal water and sewer (or well and septic), electric hookup and any other utilities desired (cable, telephone, etc.). Buyers are required to make an immediate down payment of 10 percent of the house sale, or $10,000, whichever is greater, in cash or check with positive identification. The balance will be due in certified funds, such as a cashier's check, on or before April 14.

The house, which meets code in Tompkins County, N.Y., was designed and built by Cornell students.