General Electric (NYSE: GE) on June 23 announced the winners of its most recent ecomagination Challenge: Powering Your Home. The company and its venture-capital partners will invest a total of $63.5 million in the winners, which included solar companies like Pythagoras Solar, which makes windows integrated photovoltaics, and SunRun.

GE launched the challenge in January as part of an effort to improve energy efficiency in the home using new technologies. In this round, it awarded 10 companies for new concepts, like SunRun’s solar home power services, and five Innovation Award winners for start-up organizations like Pythagoras.

Each of the innovation winners will receive a $100,000 grant to further develop the technology. Details regarding the $63 million in investments that the ecomagination partners will invest in the 10 home energy technology winners are still being worked out.

“It’s a significant sign of the legitimacy of the industry,” said SunRun spokesperson Susan Wise.

SunRun offers homeowners in a growing number of states its solar power service, a lease-type agreement which allows homeowners to reap the benefits of solar systems on their home with little to no upfront cost.

“When you have a proven company like GE [taking an interest], it shows clearly that SunRun is a leader in the industry, and the model is here to stay,” she said.

Wise couldn’t disclose the details of the award at this point.

“We’re working out the specifics of what this collaboration with GE will entail,” she said.

“The award along with its $100,000 prize validates our proposition and supplements the traction we are enjoying in the field making Pythagoras Solar an attractive investment,” said Pythagoras Vice President of Business Development Udi Paret. “GE is known for setting high standards and for having a good eye for picking technologies that would become widely adopted.”

Pythagoras, a California-based company, which also has offices in Israel and China, has developed what it calls the PVGU (photovoltaic insulating glass unit).

“Pythagoras Solar window technology simultaneously delivers energy efficiency and solar energy generation without sacrificing the appearance of a traditional window, enabling the design and construction of more sustainable, economically viable buildings,” GE said in a press release.

The unit, akin to a glass brick sandwiching a perpendicularly mounted photovoltaic cell, uses optics to focus the light on the cells.

“Using commodity crystalline PV cells means we enjoy their rapid price reduction,” Paret said. “Furthermore, using the optical system allows us to use about half the surface area of cells to generate the same amount of energy, reducing the cost for such a highly integrated PV unit. The result is a solar window that allows for a typical 3-5 years return on investment.”

The company began pilots of its technology last year, Paret said.

“Pythagoras began installing a series of demo and pilot units at customers’ and partners’ sites starting last November and will begin its first commercial projects starting this summer,” he said. “The company is currently qualifying façade and skylight projects for installation in 2012.”

Going forward, the company will mainly focus on the U.S. market, according to Paret.

The company is also working on developing relationships with other companies.

“Partnerships with leading glass and window companies are being structured and will further enhance the value proposition and accelerate the products adoption throughout the construction value chain.”