Over the past several months Vermont Techs Low Impact Design/Build Initiative (LIDI) has worked to develop a design for an energy efficient, low impact home that is practical for a Vermont family. Under the supervision of the Center for Sustainable Practices director, Donna Barlow-Casey, the LIDI steering committee, Blaine Conner of Chelsea, VT and Esther Covey of Williamstown, VT, developed an infrastructure that would allow future teams to design a similar building and enter the U.S. Department of Energys Solar Decathlon, a design and construction contest for colleges and universities across the nation.
The LIDI team designed several potential floor plans, analyzed their effectiveness, investigated material and construction options, and preformed base cost analysis and solar analysis. This fall the LIDI team narrowed their options to a select few plans and the design team of Matthew Allen of Corinth, VT, Monica Alsup of Thetford Center, VT, and Heather Boyd of Randolph, VT worked to refine the plans and perform further analysis. Members of LIDIs Faculty Advisory board (Barbara Conrey, Ward Joyce, and Joan Richmond-Hall) helped the LIDI team to improve and complete the layout that will be used to begin the design development and construction phases in the spring of 2013.
LIDI plans to complete construction in the fall of 2013. The completed home will be the base of operations for Vermont Techs future Solar Decathlon endeavors and could become a model for sustainable home building in Vermont. The team also hopes that the building will become an educational resource for the college and its community.
Vermont Technical College is the only public institution of higher learning in Vermont whose mission is applied education. One of the five Vermont State Colleges, Vermont Tech serves students from throughout Vermont, New England, and beyond at its two residential campuses in Williston and Randolph Center, regional campuses in Brattleboro and Bennington and at six nursing sites located throughout the state. Our academic programs encompass a wide range of engineering technology, agricultural, health, and business fields that are vital to producing the knowledge workers need most by employers in the state and in the region. On the web:www.vtc.edu.