Houses built as part of a solar decathlon by teams from the University of Texas and Texas A&M went on display Friday in Washington D.C.

The solar-powered homes were built over the past two weeks on the National Mall and have opened for public tours. The rules are -- everything has to be powered by the sun.

If you were inside Texas A&M's grow-home you wouldn't know the difference. With mesquite floors and all the comforts of home, A&M finished off their house with true touches of Texas. The space features a huge living room with sliding glass doors, kitchen table for Texas homecooking and a stowaway queen size bed. This house also stands a chance to be the first house ever built in the Galapagos Islands.

"It's very comfortable very cozy people think 800 square feet might be a little small but with what we've done with the space, I think it's actually incredible," said Kristen Buckalew, Texas A&M.

"It's very attractive it's very unique, a lot of features to it to make it very comfortable, make it more like a home," said Jon Clark, Washington D.C. resident.

It took two years for the 20 schools competing to design their solar-powered homes.

The University of Texas team calls theirs the "Bloomhouse" because it thrives off sunshine inside and out. In fact, the southern side of the house is primarily made of windows with sliding wood shutters. It also features a very popular orange hot tub on its outdoor deck which uses excess hot water from the inside of the house. There's a spacious living room inside with a big Texas-style kitchen, one comfy bedroom and bathroom and a huge living space with a big flat screen TV.

Two years ago UT placed 6th at the decathlon, and this year they're hoping for a win. In fact, they've already been recognized as the first school to finish their inspections at the competition.

"When we got here it was an empty National Mall. Within a week there's houses, there's people and there asking questions which is wonderful," said Lindsey Jones, UT.

"We had just a blank slate to see it come all the way this far, it's amazing," said Crystal Coppenger, UT.

The results of the competition will be announced October 19.