The Colorado Renewable Energy Society (CRES) has announced the winners of its “Renewable Energy and Sustainable Design in Buildings” Awards for 2009.

Residential Building Category:
Aspen Homes’ “Juniper Showhome”
 
The Juniper Showhome was designed and built with all solar concepts in mind in an effort to achieve the concept of a Net-Zero home that produces as much energy as it consumes in one full year. In an attempt to bring net-zero living to the general public, Aspen Homes has strived to make this type of home affordable. Aspen believes that if we can make the concept of a zero energy home economical, we will be able to change the market towards new energy efficient construction.
 
Sustainable Design Features include a 4-kW grid-tied photovoltaic system; passive solar with overhangs designed to provide summer shading; solar thermal hot water system for domestic hot water; high-efficiency air source heat pump (nearly as efficient as ground-source, but with much lower first cost); R-10 exterior foundation insulation; R-28 exterior walls; R-50 cellulose attic insulation; heat recovery ventilator; and compact fluorescent lighting.
 
Team: Rob and Jammie Sabin, Aspen Homes, [email protected]

Institutional Building Category:
The new Science and Engineering Building,
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
The Science & Engineering building is the second LEED building on campus, and is expected to be awarded LEED Gold certification in August 2009. Sustainable Design Features include a 13.6 kW thin-film photovoltaic system; 31% more energy efficient than ASHRAE 90.1 compliant base building; low-Emissive glass, solar shading, and fritted glass to use to reduce solar heat gain; low-VOC paints, carpet, sealants, wood and agrifiber used to improve indoor air quality; water conserving low-flow plumbing fixtures; 34% of material by weight from recycled content; 20% of material from within 500 miles; and 95% construction waste from this project was recycled.

Team:

• Linda Kogan, UCCS Director of Office of Sustainability, [email protected] 
• Chris Gebhart, AR7 architects, [email protected]
• Gary Reynolds, UCCS Executive Director Facilities Services, [email protected]
• Darrell Lackey, ME Engineers, [email protected]
• David Metcalf, Jacobs Engineering, [email protected]
• Kate Bechtholdt, Douglass Colony Group [email protected]

These and other CRES award winners will be honored at the 2009 Colorado Renewable Energy Conference, August 28-30 at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden. The theme of this year’s Conference is “Clean Energy: Pathways to a Low-Carbon Footprint,” and will feature a variety of presentations and panel discussions in three tracks: Communities, Low-Carbon Power, and Carbon Sequestration.
 
The main day of the Conference is Saturday, August 29. After a welcome session, Conference Keynote Speaker Eric Barron (Director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research) will discuss “Climate – State of the Science.” Two Plenary Sessions will follow, covering “Communities Addressing Climate Change” and “The Promise of the Smart Grid.” After lunch, a wide variety of breakout sessions will cover everything from the latest clean-energy technologies to “using your own home as a carbon sink.” The Conference Dinner on Saturday night will feature presentation of CRES Awards and KMGH TV-7 (Denver) Meteorologist Mike Nelson, who will discuss “Wild Weather in the West.”
 
On Sunday, August 29, the Smart Energy Living Alliance (www.SmartEnergyLiving.org) will host a full day of workshops (90 minutes each) on how you can join Colorado’s New Energy Economy through your own home or business. CRES will also offer tours of solar homes in the Golden area on Sunday.
 
The Saturday-morning Keynote Session and Exhibit Hall (open throughout Conference Weekend, and showcasing the latest & greatest clean energy technologies) are FREE and open to the public. All other Conference activities require registration. Conference Registration is available online through Thursday, August 27, at www.cres-energy.org/crec2009paypal.html, and on-site throughout the Conference.
 
Complete information about the 2009 Colorado Renewable Energy Conference is available at
www.cres-energy.org/conference.

blog by elephant’s Realtor – Liz Benson