Homes in the Solar Village are sold to income qualified buyers first via a lottery process, then first-come, first-served to qualified buyers. Following the last buyers' lottery held May 15, 2009 we have seven homes still available.

Call Cynthia Bleil at 413-863-9781, Ext. 149 or email rdi-info@fcrhra.orgif you'd like to apply for one of the remaining homes.

Click here for information on the application process.

Note that low and moderate income levels are much higher than most people realize. For example, a family of four is considered Moderate Income if they make up to $85,360 annually. More info.

Media
The Solar Village has starred in a number of local and regional TV news shows this month. Take a look at our media page for details.

We are also on the New York Times website in both video and blog form. Authors/Producers are Tom Zeller, Jr. and Sean Patrick Farrell. Click here.

RDI commissioned local filmmaker Catherine Stryker of Cat's Eye Productions to make a half hour documentary about the Wisdom Way Solar Village. It has been showing on local cable access stations and has been sent to cable stations nationwide. It can be viewed at Amherst Cable TV here.

Construction Progress
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#'s 16 and 18 Solar Way are almost complete. In this photo neighbors from Lot 10 take a look.	This photo of Lots 9 (right) & 10 (left) looking past the foundation of Lot 2 gives a good sense of the village layout.	#'s 35 and 37 Solar Way (Lot 10) have been occupied since winter - greener photos coming soon!

The first two homeowners have moved into 35 and 37 Solar Way. A third will move in shortly to 16 Solar Way.

Lot 9 will be insulated shortly after which construction of the interior will begin.

Lot 4's exterior walls and roof trusses are in place.

Tours
Weekly tours, held Thursdays from 5:00 - 6:00 p.m., have been very well attended by potential buyers as well as individuals looking for ways to improve their own homes and others simply curious about green construction. We took approximately 30 people through the Village for two tours during the course of the Greenfield Green Fair, April 18th and 19th.

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Technology Tidbits
(This news is from March's update, but interesting enough that we wanted to keep it posted for another month.)
Xia Fang and Ed Hancock, engineers from NREL, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO, were on-site in February testing one of the Wisdom Way Solar Village homes for the Building America program. NREL tested two innovative features of the Solar Village, the single point heat source (a natural gas direct vent heater in the main living space) and the air distribution system, in order to determine whether really simple mechanical systems are viable in super-insulated homes

Single Point Heat Source: RDI and the Building America program wanted to know how well the single point heat source was heating the entire home, particularly the second floor bedrooms. The engineers set the thermostat on the Monitor heater in the living room at a steady 68 degrees. They then tested the temperature in various parts of the home at different times of day. The temperature in the bedrooms was tested with the doors left open and with them closed. Results show the system is doing an excellent job.

Air Distribution System in a Well Sealed Home: By dispersing a tracer gas through the home and then testing quantities of the gas in the bedrooms, the engineers were able to determine how well the ventilation system affected air distribution. The ventilation system is designed to distribute air from a quiet fan in the living room ceiling to small vents in the bedroom walls. The presence of the tracer gas was tested with bedroom doors open and closed and with the ceiling ventilation fan in the living room turned off and on. Results showed that the ventilation fan did an excellent job distributing fresh air to the bedrooms.

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Some of the equipment NREL engineers used to test air and heat distribution at 35 Solar Way.	Engineer Ed Hancock points to an air sensor.	Ed upstairs with more testing devices.

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For further information and application forms, please contact Cynthia M. Bleil, M.Ed., Outreach and Education Coordinator:
(413) 863-9781 ext. 149
rdi-info@fcrhra.org

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Site last modified 4-8-09

Take a TOUR of the Wisdom Way Solar Village any Tuesday from 5:00 - 6:00.

You must call or email to reserve your space -

413-863-9781 Ext. 149

rdi-info@fcrhra.org