According to the Albuquerque Journal, a Sandia Labs researcher has won a video contest put on by Discover magazine.

Cliff Ho won the Future of energy in two minutes or less contest. Ho produced a two-minute video on solar energy, laying out what can be done in the future to make solar energy “H.O.T.” — meaning it can provide energy for heating, on-site electricity production and transportation.

Nathanael Greene, director of renewable energy policy at the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), announced the winner, saying:

I love the concrete and clear presentation. I thought it did a good job of laying out the different ways we can use solar energy. Not surprisingly, as someone who spends his time advocating for renewable energy, I’m a big fan of solar power in all forms and believe that it will play an ever larger role in our energy mix. Lili’s Law was a close runner-up. In addition to being inspiring, Lili is absolutely right that we need to stop wasting energy, and turning off lights is a simple and effective first step. Ultimately, we need to use more efficient light bulbs (and other appliances), to turn them off when we’re not using them, and to power them with renewable energy such as solar when they are on.

So what does Ho get for winning? Well, quite a bit. Ho gets:

  • A home energy-monitoring system
  • Motion detectors to automatically turn lights on and off
  • Compact fluorescent bulbs installed throughout his home
  • “Smart” surge protectors

All in all, the gadgets are worth more than $2,000.

You can see Ho’s above..