Habitat for Humanity & RIT Build Sustainable Housing
Photo credit: Eric Drummond
RIT's Habitat for Humanity club and Engineers for a Sustainable World are teaming together with RIT President, Bill Destler, and Flower City Habitat for Humanity (FCHH) to build the first RIT-sponsored Habitat for Humanity home.
Breaking ground in fall of 2009, this home — designed and planned by RIT students — will implement green and sustainable innovations in an attempt to show that green can be affordable. The house will be built at 167 Whitney Street in downtown Rochester, a neighborhood FCHH hopes to revitalize over the next five years. FCHH has built or renovated over 160 homes since 1984, but this is one of the first projects devoted specifically to cost-effective sustainability.
At their Imagine RIT display, the Habitat for Humanity group premiered a film they developed, highlighting the severe issue of poverty in Rochester and the significant impact Habitat homes make on the lives of Rochester citizens. Also on display, were the blueprints of the house, created by RIT students, specifically for this project. At first glance, it was actually quite challenging to see what, physically, about the house plans was inherently sustainable, from just the blueprints. After watching the video and viewing the displays, however, it became evident that a few changes in structure, combined with many more changes in materials and process will make a significant impact.
The house design was developed in collaboration with Todd A. Marsh, a certified architect of the American Institute of Architects, and an Associate Professor of Architectural Design and Drafting at Finger Lakes Community College. Of the several sustainable features the house will include, the most important idea will be maintaining a well-sealed housing envelope to prevent energy loss. To remedy this problem, they plan to utilize a Heat Recovery Ventilator (HRV) that exchanges heat between the existing air in the house and the incoming air in a manner that significantly reduces heat loss. Additionally, by use of a redesigned air-lock entryway that prevents air exchange upon entering and exiting the house and the use of spray-foam insulation, their vision of an airtight, efficient home is well on the way. Other innovative solutions are the use of passive-solar heating as well as solar panels, which are being donated by O’Connell Electric.
One of the leading student designers for this project and member of Engineers for a Sustainable World, Alex Ship explains that, “In our partnership with FCHH, we’re trying to build this sustainable home to significantly reduce energy costs and significantly reduce impacts on the environment. One of the real advantages to having a sustainable home, especially for low income families, is going to be the low month-to-month cost of energy because this will allow us to save the homeowner a considerable amount of money”.
If you are interested in finding out more about the RIT Habitat for Humanity Sustainable House Project, please visit their booth in the WOW! Center, or their website at www.rithfhgoesgreen.org.