by jboullion | Oct 13, 2009 | Uncategorized
Students from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee assemble their solar-powered house in preparation for the start of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2009 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, Oct. 06, 2009.
From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee architecture and engineering students have erected one of 20 buildings in a solar village that has risen on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Over the past two years, the students designed a small, energy-efficient solar home on campus, as part of the Solar Decathlon competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.
After being built on campus, the home was taken down in pieces and shipped to Washington, where it was put back together over the past week.
UWM is one of 20 teams selected to compete in the Solar Decathlon and is the first entrant in the competition from Wisconsin.
“We’re excited about it,” said Greg Thomson, assistant professor of architecture. “We’re happy to be there. There’s a big chunk of the Big Ten, and also teams that are made up of multiple universities.”
The competition is international – with teams funded in part by the governments of Germany and Spain.
The UWM home – named Meltwater – features 28 solar panels producing electricity and two solar panels powering a hot water system. The name was chosen because its design was inspired by the power of the sun to melt the glaciers and create the Great Lakes.
The students and faculty involved in the project designed a home that would be comfortable in Wisconsin’s climate.
The walls are extra thick and injected with more than twice the insulation of a typical Wisconsin home, Thomson said.
Photo by Stefano Paltera/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon
by jboullion | Sep 22, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by in the D.J. Slater:
It has been in John Kregenow’s nature for years to do his part to help the environment, and it goes beyond putting plastic in the recycling bin.
Kregenow, 57, of the town of Cassel, west and south of Marathon, reuses his old clothing as wash rags, maintains a compost pile, collects rainwater to use on his garden and grows vegetables for himself and food pantries.
So when he saw his roof was covered with cracking asphalt shingles nearly two years ago, he decided to invest in a solar roof.
Kregenow turned to Kulp’s of Stratford, a roofing company, to install the solar roof, which actively started absorbing energy on Aug. 19.
Since that time, Kregenow has been able to generate $150 in energy. Kregenow typically spends $120 on his monthly energy bill.
“(My wife and I) are eager to see our September bill,” he said.
Since mid-May, Kulp’s has offered residents and businesses the chance to upgrade their properties with solar roofing, said Bob Kulp, co-owner of Kulp’s. The systems allow property owners to generate electrical power from the sun, which can be used and sold to utility companies.
So far, Kulp’s has installed the solar roof at Kregenow’s home, has an order to install one on a home in Marshfield and has three other homeowners who are committed to buying the technology.
by jboullion | Sep 16, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Nathaniel Shuda in the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune:
Sustainable building techniques are becoming increasingly popular in central Wisconsin and across the state, industry leaders say.
Most recently, the Mead Wildlife Area Education & Visitor Center near Milladore became the second new building in Wisconsin to receive LEED Platinum Green Building Certification, the highest possible level for sustainable-energy design.
“I believe the trend has been going up for the building of LEED-certified buildings in general,” said Sue Loomans, executive director of the Wisconsin Green Building Alliance. “People are seeing the importance of sustainable building.”
LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a nationwide energy-efficiency program developed by the U.S. Green Building Council and overseen by the Green Building Certification Institute.
The Mead building joins the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center near Baraboo, the renovated Hunzinger Construction Offices in Milwaukee and a private home in Madison in carrying the LEED Platinum rating.
by jboullion | Sep 4, 2009 | Uncategorized
From a news release posted on PRWeb:
Appleton, WI (PRWEB) September 4, 2009 — River Crest Elementary School in Hudson, Wisconsin, recently received the designation of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), the nation’s foremost authority on green buildings. Hoffman LLC, www.hoffman.net, an Appleton, Wisconsin-based planning, architectural, and construction management firm, designed and built the highly-sustainable and eco-friendly school.
River Crest Elementary became the first elementary school in Wisconsin, and the second public elementary school in the nation, to receive Gold under the USGBC’s new LEED for Schools Rating System. In addition, it is the second of only two public school buildings in the state to receive LEED Gold designation–the first being Hoffman’s Northland Pines High School project in Eagle River, Wisconsin, in 2006.
“River Crest’s LEED Gold certification validates and confirms that sustainable design and construction can be done at or below conventional costs,” stated Mark Hanson, Hoffman’s Director of Sustainable Services.
Completed in August of 2008, River Crest was designed and built for $166/square foot, which includes design, site work, construction, furnishings, fixtures, and equipment. Total project cost is $57/square foot less than, or 29% below, the average cost for public elementary schools built in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin in 2008 as stated in the “2009 Construction Report” by School Planning & Management.
by jboullion | Aug 17, 2009 | Uncategorized
From an article by Peter Passi in the Superior Telegram:
When most viewers think of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” visions of lavish over-the-top houses spring to mind.
But the dwelling now being built for the Howard and Jessica Huber family in Wisconsin’s Oakland Township breaks the mold.
“This is going to be the greenest show they’ve ever done,” said Thad Whitesel, president of Builders Commonwealth, the Duluth cooperative overseeing the first “Extreme Makeover” project ever tackled in the Northland. “This also is the smallest house they’ve ever built, by quite a bit,” he said.
At 2,300 square feet, the Hubers’ new home won’t be small by most people’s standards, but the majority of residences built during other episodes of the show would dwarf it.
The home’s modest size will make it less expensive to heat. But the energy-efficient design of the residence also will have much to do with keeping its heating bills in check. The home is being built upon a super-insulated concrete slab and will incorporate high-efficiency 8-inch thick panel walls and triple-glazed windows.
Although Whitesel said there wasn’t sufficient lead time to procure solar panels for the home, Builders Commonwealth was able to incorporate passive solar heating into the design. The home will be heated with a combination of fuels, including wood, propane and electricity, allowing it to operate with off-peak electrical heat.
To help the home retain heat, it will feature a 6,000-pound heat sink and a thermal-storage wall behind its wood burner, according to Arno Kahn project manager and co-founder of Builders Commonwealth.
Plans also call for a wind turbine which should meet most of the home’s daytime electrical needs. Kahn explained that building in a fuel efficient manner is key to ensuring the longevity of the home, which he fully expects to exceed a century.
“Fuel is expensive now, but think of what it could cost in 40 or 50 years from now,” he said.
