Presentation: UB Entry in Solar Decathalon Competition

WNY Sustainable Energy Association 

Hosts 

UB Solar Decathlon Presentation! 

Monday, April 7th at 7pm 

Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center 

341 Delaware Avenue 

Buffalo, NY 14202 

(716) 854-1694 

www.hallwalls.org 

Free and Open to the Public! 

Please save the date and attend the WNY Sustainable Energy Association’s Reitan Speaker Series at Hallwalls for a night of innovation and Green Building design. UB Professor of Architecture Martha Bohm, UB Clinical Assistant Professor of Architecture Brad Wales, along with their graduate students will unveil the renderings of GRoW House. 

This is a first time entry for the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning in the US Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon bi-annual competition that will be held in Irvine, California in 2015. The UB Solar Decathlon design entry incorporates the latest green design technology and renewable energy implementation that will enable the inhabitants to Grow, Relax and Work; GRow House! 

Join the WNY Sustainable Energy Association for this informative and exciting presentation at Hallwalls!

Sustainable Design: Green Roofs, Walls & Homes

The WNY Sustainable Energy Association’s

Reitan Sustainability Speaker Series Presents:

"50 Shades of Green: Green Roofs, Walls and Homes"

When:  Tuesday December 3rd at 7pm

Where: Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, 341 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo

Free and Open to the Public!

Kevin Connors, Principal of eco-logic Studio, Architecture & Engineering PLLC and  
David Lanfear owner of Bale on Bale Construction and Green Top will present their latest green design projects that include the implementation of renewables, green roofs and walls! Don't miss this amazing night of sustainable design projects!
For more information please go to: www.wnysea.com


WNY Sustainable Energy Association
Promoting, Educating and Celebrating Sustainability In Western New York
www.wnysea.com
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Solar & Green Building Tour of WNY

On Saturday, October 13, 2012, over 1500 people from across WNY will experience the Solar & Green Building Tour, an annual event held by the Western New York Sustainable Energy Association (WNYSEA). With over 25 sites open across the region, for one day only, attendees will have an opportunity to learn about solar, geothermal, energy efficiency, net zero houses, green roofs, bale on bale construction, LEED buildings and adaptive reuse of historic buildings and more.
 
This event is an open house, not a guided tour. All sites are open on October 13 from 10am – 4pm unless noted otherwise. The event is free, open to the public and no registration is required.  A full list of sites in the Buffalo area is Here.

Awards Ceremony: WNYSEA will be kicking off the annual event with an awards ceremony at 9:30am, on Saturday, October 13 at Hispanics United of Buffalo – 254 Virginia Street on Buffalo’s West Side. WNYSEA will give its annual leadership award to both the University at Buffalo and Hispanics United for their efforts in promoting renewable technologies in our region. The public is welcome to attend. Rita Yelda, Director of WNY Drilling Defense, and Erin Heaney, Executive Director of the Clean Air Coalition of WNY will both receive WNYSEA Individual Leadership awards for their great work in Environmental Stewardship.

Presentation: Geothermal Heating -- April 18

WNY Sustainable Energy Association 

presents

The Reitan Speaker Series

• SPEAKER: Jens Ponikau, Geo-designer for Buffalo Geothermal Heating
• TOPIC: Everything You Wanted to Know about Geothermal Heating, but were Afraid to Ask!
• WHERE: Hallwalls - 341 Delaware Ave., Buffalo
• WHEN: Wednesday April 18th at 7pm - Free & Open to All

Buffalo Geothermal is a geothermal design and installment firm offering turnkey solutions in residential and commercial applications. Currently, BGH installs between 50-60 systems per year in the Buffalo and Western New York area. They include open and closed systems, and horizontal, vertical, and pond-loop systems. 

A native of Germany, Mr. Ponikau designed and installed 120 geosystems abroad and brought this design knowledge to Western New York, where he helped found Buffalo Geothermal Heating in 2008. He has been teaching numerous seminars to architects and engineers on geothermal technologies, and also made public appearances an radio shows, schools and the home show to further educate the public. Mr. Ponikau is an International Ground Source Heat Pump Association accredited geothermal installer and a graduate of the University of Hamburg, Germany.

Come Learn about this Renewable Energy Source at HALLWALLS, which has an active Geothermal System!

We hope to see you there!

Surprises on the 2009 Tour of Solar Homes & Green Buildings

Last year I took the Tour of Solar Homes & Green Buildings. The 2009 Tour was informative and full of surprises for me, plus I got to meet some interesting people. I learned a lot and thoroughly enjoyed it, and I plan to go on the 2010 Tour of Solar Homes & Green Buildings on Saturday, October 2nd, 10am-4pm.

To whet your appetite for the 2010 Tour, descriptions of three of the places that I visited last year, along with some photos, are shown below.

First stop, Depew, NY:

I wasn't sure what I was going to find at the so-called "Straw Bale House", having read the story of The Three Little Pigs and learned that straw is not necessarily the preferred building material. I was pleasantly surprised to find the beautiful home pictured above and to find out that, in addition to straw bales, wall construction included wood framing and structural insulated panels. Features of the "earth friendly" home include passive solar and radiant floor heating, solar- and gas-heated water, solar photovoltaic electricity, recycled materials and natural finishes with earthen plasters.
At the home I met the builder, David Lanfear of Bale on Bale Construction, and the architect & designer, Kevin Connors of eco_logic STUDIO, pictured at right inside the home. In recognition of their achievements, these men along with homeowner, Carrie Zaenglein, received a commendation for outstanding leadership in sustainable design from the WNY Sustainable Energy Association Trust.

Second stop, Lancaster, NY:
The photo shows part of the Global Headquarters for Ecology and Environment, Inc.. It looks like a nice place to work, doesn't it? The building interior is not only very beautiful, it is energy efficient and environmentally friendly. In recognition of these and other features of the building, E&E Inc. has been awarded a Platinum designation from the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).

Upon entering the building, visitors can meet ED, the "Earth Day" buffalo, and will see extensive, plant-filled atriums. My tour was led by Robert Gibson, who explained all of the eco-friendly features of the building. Windows open and close automatically depending upon the outside temperature. Solar panels on the roof are linked to a "GreenMeter" that monitors the building's usage of electricity and natural gas as well as the outside temperature. In the parking lot, there is an area reserved for car pool, hybrid, and alternative-fuel vehicles.

Third stop, Buffalo, NY:
The smallest building I visited housed the biggest surprises. The building is an adobe and straw bale greenhouse warmed by the sun and located on Buffalo's West Side, as part of the Massachusetts Avenue Project (MAP). Inside I saw elevated shelves of various green plants, a myriad of pipes and heard the sounds of dripping water. Looking down at the floor level I saw a large water tank filled with fish...lots of fish. What's going on here?

I met the person in charge, Jesse Meeder, who explained that the system is called "aquaponics". The fish eat duckweed and other small plants grown inside the greenhouse, and they live in rain water collected on site. The waste water produced by the fish is pumped up to the green plants to fertilize them. The plants thrive on the waste and, at the same time, clean up the water which is then returned to the fish. Brilliant! A more-or-less self-sustaining eco-system, requiring only a small amount of electricity for the pumps.

Meeder built the system himself using available materials and a small budget. Thinking that Meeder was some sort of bio-engineering grad, I asked him what his major was in college. "English" was his reply. Hmmm, I thought, clearly a Renaissance man!

Last year when I saw the fish, called tilapia, they were tiny. When grown to full size, around 10 inches, there is a market for the fish, and Meeder already had advance orders from restaurants. There is a market for the greens, like parsely, lettuce, and watercress too. Meeder also mentioned plans to expand the operation. Sounded like the makings for not only a good neighbor but also an environmentally-friendly, local business growing on Buffalo's West Side.

Plan to Attend the 2010 Tour of Solar Homes & Green Buildings:
Saturday, October 2nd, 10am-4pm.
The tour is sponsored by the WNY Sustainable Energy Association.
For a List of Homes & Buildings for the 2010 Tour, click here.

Green Buildings Open House

SATURDAY, October 2, 2010
10am-4pm
Western NY Sustainable Energy Association

Tour Solar Homes and Green Buildings

[Click image to enlarge]

List of Homes & Buildings in the Buffalo area, click here.

Website: www.nesea.org/greenbuildings

Click Here to view an updated flyer.

Contacts: jkbozer@gmail.com or enarcht@gmail.com

Tour Solar Homes & Green Buildings

SAVE THE DATE!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

WNY Tour of Solar Homes

and Green Buildings

Join us on a self-guided tour of local homes and businesses that are

doing their part to save the environment and improve our quality of life.

Features include: passive solar, wind systems, solar hot water, super-insulation,

LEED-rated buildings, and nontoxic building materials.

See the WNY Sustainable Energy Association website, www4.bfn.org/wnysea

after September 15, 2009, for tour information:

solar and green buildings, locations, directions and times.

The WNY Tour of Solar Homes and Green Buildings is sponsored by

the WNY Sustainable Energy Association in collaboration with

the American Solar Energy Society's National Solar Tour and

the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association's Green Building Open House and in cooperation with other local environmental groups including the WNY Climate Action Coalition.

Further questions,

contact Elizabeth Nichols at enarcht@gmail.com or WNYSEA  881-1639

Celebrating Energy Conservation, Renewable Energy,

and Our Commitment to the Environment

This event is free and open to the public.