Alfred State’s Zero Energy Demonstration home receives top AASHE Award

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) has recognized Alfred State as a sustainability leader. Alfred State captured AASHE’s attention with its Zero Energy Demonstration Home located on the Wellsville campus. A case study about the home, which was recognized at AASHE’s award ceremony in Los Angeles earlier this month, will be published in the December 2012 issue of Sustainability: The Journal of Record and can be accessed on the AASHE website at http://www.aashe.org/resources/case-studies/alfred-state.

Constructed entirely by students in Alfred State’s Building and Electrical Trades programs, the 2,200 square foot home produces more energy than it consumes, and has received Gold certification through the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) green building program. The home, which now functions as an open laboratory for students and the public, was designed to be highly energy efficient and incorporates a variety of renewable energy technologies - including solar photovoltaic, small wind, solar thermal, and geothermal energy. Additionally, the home features a high-end monitoring and automation system that includes temperature sensors to the full depth of the geothermal wells, insolation monitoring adjacent to solar thermal and photovoltaic systems, and other monitoring and automation systems.

The project was made possible with funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

“The college would not have been able to have students construct this Zero Energy Home without the ARC and NYSERDA funds. These partners continue to allow the college to be a leader in renewable energy and green construction methods that are changing construction through the graduates of the college” noted Craig Clark, executive director of the Wellsville campus and dean of Alfred State’s School of Applied Technology.

As Paul Rowland, executive director of AASHE commented, “Sustainability in higher education is gaining momentum…colleges and universities are making a difference in advancing sustainability and are showing that higher education can lead the sustainability transformation.”

The other prestigious schools earning the AASHE honor include: the University of Wisconsin – Madison, Skidmore College, the University of British Columbia, and Owens Community College.