Cedarwood residence hall, Eastern Mennonite University’s first LEED building, is nearing completion. EMU is working with Troyer Group, Mishawaka, IN, and Harman Construction, Inc., Harrisonburg, VA, to create natural lighting, recycled flooring, a bike shed with a “green” roof and native landscaping among other things. Cedarwood residence hall will house 120 students, replacing Oakwood residence, a 40-year-old structure. read more

On June 4, Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, IN, celebrated official recognition of the school’s efforts to make their new library a green building. Scoring 47 of the 69 points possible from the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system, the library received a gold certification from the United States Green Building Council.

Some of the green characteristics of the AMBS library include triple-pane windows and use of natural light, efficient insulation and temperature control and also a landscape which effectively recycles rainwater. Most material for the construction project was gathered from the surrounding region and 92 percent of the building waste was recycled. read more

Cedarwood under construction.

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Eastern Mennonite University and Altadena Energy &
Solar are cooperating on a solar hot water system for EMU’s new Cedarwood
residence hall, which is scheduled to open in August, 2009.  The solar hot
water system will preheat the domestic hot water for the new facility,
saving over 50% of the natural gas consumption associated with hot water
preparation for the 120-student dormitory.

Cedarwood, which is replacing EMU’s 39-year-old Oakwood residence, is both
a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and US
Energystar-rated building.

“Energy savings from the solar hot water system is estimated to be 2900
therms per year, which is over 2600 gallons of gasoline equivalent (GGE)
per year, or 528 tons of CO2 over its 30-year lifetime,” said Hans W.
Rosenberger, president of Altadena Energy and Solar based in
Altadena, Calif.

“The hot water system will dramatically reduce natural gas consumption,
which will also decrease the energy costs and price volatility for the
university,” Rosenberger said. “Solar system performance will be displayed
for the students in the building lobby and simultaneously recorded by the
building management system for further validation and analysis.”

The solar hot water service will be provided to Eastern Mennonite
University under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) from Altadena
Energy & Solar. The system will be built and commissioned in late summer
2009.

Landis Homes, a retirement community in Lititz, PA, is seeking to better manage stormwater by restoring a floodplain. Settlement activities many years ago, such as timber harvesting and clearing land for farming, caused eroding soils to make their way into lowlands. Floodplain restoration puts stream channels and their adjacent floodplains at or very near their historical elevations and locations.

LEED-certified hybrid homes are also on the drawing board at Landis Homes. Read more on their web site at http://www.landishomes.org/index.php?fuseAction=articles.article&articleGroupID=42&articleID=397