The first two homes are already occupied.	#16 is due to close in late April, #18 in early May.	RDI carpenters Stanley Gadomski and Aleks Zimin air-seal a home prior to insulating.
Construction is progressing at #41-43 Solar Way	The on-demand water heater shown above only kicks in when the water in the solar HW storage tank on the right falls below a set temperature.

Technology Tidbits
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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Visitors to the Village: Twenty three students from the Springfield Renaissance School, an "Expeditionary Learning School" based in Springfield, MA, visited the Solar Village on January 13, 2009. RDI staff were joined by WWSV architect Bill Austin of Austin Design and energy expert Craig Marden who generously gave of their time to explain the house systems to the students and answer questions.

Students were expected to return to their school as "experts" who could explain what they'd learned about energy efficiency and sustainability to classmates who hadn't made the field trip. The final outcome of the students' research will be a report made to the City of Springfield recommending ways to build energy efficiency and sustainability into city housing projects. The students will also present a public forum on the topic.

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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

ARCHIVED Updates:

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