Renewable Energy Projects in Berkshire County
Clark
Residence
Dalton, MA
The Clark home in Dalton is a contemporary home built in 1985. Green building features include passive solar gain, solar hot water, radiant heat, thermal mass to store and release heat, and high levels of insulation.
Built into side of hill with earth protection on north side, the home has no north windows. Insulation includes: four inches rigid foam outside foundation down 4 feet, two inches 8 feet along with concrete suspended slab and large masonry wall provide large thermal mass. Two-inch removable foam on passive solar gain windows enhances capture. R-17 walls and R-37 ceiling. Total fuel consumption was 2 cords wood with high efficiency wood furnace from 1985 to 1996. Present use is 350-400 gal per year propane using same radiant heat source in suspended concrete slab.
Contemporary design emphasizes minimum heating and maintenance requirements as well as effective cooling in summer. Main floor on suspended slab accommodates kitchen, bath, den, and open dining/living area with circular staircase to levels below and above. Window overhangs were designed to allow maximum solar gain in winter to heat floor tiles/thermal mass and minimum solar gain during summer months. Upper level has two bedrooms, bath and small loft area for desks. Basement level has large open room with additional solar gain and laundry, bath, and tool room. Garage is on lower level with suspended slab roof proving support for 700 sq. ft. deck off living level. Porch on north side provides cool, quiet, outside sleeping area during summer.
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Building Features: * Radiant floor heating Designer: Owner Construction Cost: ~$130,000 Square Feet: 1176 with 1 1/2 stories plus 200 sq ft screened porch on north side. |
Builder: Owner Building Style: Contemporary Year Built: 1984 -1985 Window Brand: Andersen Insulation Type: Walls-six inch fiberglass with 1" rigid foam under sheetrock. Second floor ceiling-12" fiberglass with 1" rigid foam under sheetrock. Cathedral ceiling- 10" fiberglass with foam inserts to provide vent under roof; 1" rigid foam under 3/4" cedar paneling. |
Darrow School
New Lebanon, New York
General Information: The Samson Environmental Center (SEC) at Darrow School was designed to fit aesthetically within its location at the historic Mount Lebanon Shaker Village while performing as a responsibly-constructed and energy-efficient modern building. The SEC is also a wastewater solution, processing up to 8,500 gallons of wastewater daily. It houses a 2kW solar-photovoltaicc array that is connected to the NY State School Power...Naturally consortium of schools. It is a classroom and laboratory used extensively in college-preparatory curricula that highlights sustainability education. It is a destination for over 400 people each year who are interested in its form and functions. Read more online at www.darrowschool.org.
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Building Features: * Daylighting Designer: Jim Baker Construction Cost: $1.2 million Square Feet: ~3,645 |
Builder: Leonard Cowan Building Style: Shaker Contemporary Window Brand: Andersen Insulation Type: Walls = rockwool, external walls=polystyrene, cold roof walls = deep fiberglass batts, open space areas = Tectum
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Berkshire Museum
Pittsfield, MA
General Description: This photovoltaic array powers the spotlights that show off the kiosk in front of the Berkshire Museum. The system was donated by Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation, which is now a National Grid Company, headquartered in Syracuse, New York. The array was designed by AWS Scientific located in Albany, New York; and the lighting design for this installation was done by Howard Brandston of the Brandston Partnership in New York City. This system was originally part of a research project to investigate kiosk and path lighting for the 525-mile recreation trail along the New York State Parks Department Canal System. Because of the historic sites located along the Canal, the Parks Department did not want to install overhead distribution lines and underground power lines were too costly to power the kiosk and lampposts that were needed to allow recreational use of the Canal paths during evening hours. The initial design of the photovoltaic array called for three 50-watt incandescent MR16 spotlights (one for each side) that would be operated by photocells on timers. However, a field test proved that reducing the wattage by two-thirds still provided sufficient lighting. The array collects energy from the sun at a peak rate of 360 watts on a sunny summer day around 12:00 noon, and stores this energy in six 12-volt batteries for nighttime use. The average lifespan of each spotlight is 10,000 hours, and the batteries have an estimated life of three years. The kiosk is designed to provide four hours of light each night under typical Upstate New York cloudy conditions. It is complemented by a PV-powered, low-level lamppost, which uses solid-state white LEDs.
Building Features:
Photovoltaic array
Congdon Residence
Richmond, MA
The past meets the future on the Congdon’s 200-year old Early American cape where two 300 watt solar electric panels and a home built solar domestic hot water system are mounted on the roof. The Congdons have also installed two 1 KW pole-mounted photovoltaic arrays. Each array can be connected to the grid or can feed into a battery bank. In order to maximize the benefits of their solar power, the Congdons have installed energy efficient lights and appliances and instantaneous hot water.
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Building Features: * Solar domestic hot water Square Feet: 1,500 Building Style: Early American cape Year Built: Circa 1800 |
Fuel Type: Oil, wood Electricity Amount: Bought 2789KWH, sold 1881 KWH Insulation Type: Urea formaldehyde, 30+ years no problem Other Building Information: A. .5 kWh grid intertie on roof. No storage. Separate meter produces 15-20 kWh/week from April on - PV. B. Drain-down solar hot water. Preheats domestic hot water feed. Self designed and built about 1982. C. Two 1 kWh, pole mounted photovoltaic arrays. SG Ason adjusted. Not tracking. 100 ft conduit, 175 ft aerial to avoid wetlands; so PV source is 300 ft of conductor away from house. Each array can grid intertie, or can feed battery bank. Battery bank feeds inverter to be stand-alone for 4 sunless days - most critical loads selected by small transfer switches. Hence, system is both grid intertie and stand alone. Batteries may be charged by PV or grid. Meters for all. Trace inverter, GC1000 grid-tied inverters |
Gratz-Piasecki Residence
West Stockbridge, MA
General Description: A 2.16 KW grid-tied photovoltaic system has recently been installed at the Gratz/Piasecki home. Their home was built in 1803 and relatively recently renovated. The solar panels have made a home on a much newer addition to the site, the five-year old barn. BPVS, Adams MA did the system design and installation. The system was funded in part by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.
Building Features:
Photovoltaic array
Privacy Campground
Williamstown, MA
The major attraction at this site is a full-fledged hydroelectric power plant. The plant is self-standing and self-regulating. Gravity-fed and using no pumps, it produces enough power to run a campground, home and workshop. There is also a solar hot water system, small windmill, and solar wood shed. Owner Andre Rambaud reports that his monthly electric bill is only $6.60, which is the charge for reading the meter. Without the hydroelectric plant, he estimates that his bill would be over $150/month.
Building Features:
* Solar domestic hot water
* Wind generators
* Micro-hydro
Designer: Self
Construction Cost: Renovation Costs: $30,000 Renovations(repairs to hydro facility): $12,840
Builder: Self
Other Building Information: Solar hot water, wind mill 12VDC, solar wood shed, 60' x 25' underground building hydro-electric power plant, 120-240 VAC, 60CPS.
Williamstown Elementary School
Williamstown, MA
This school building received funding from the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust “Green Schools” program, which allowed the school to explore and implement many green building features. A recent study showed that the school is extremely efficient, using 30% less energy than it would if built only to meet the Massachusetts Energy Code. “Green” features include siting the building to take advantage of solar gain, high efficiency windows and lighting, a heat recovery ventilation system, energy efficient heating and cooling, placement of windows to maximize natural light, and floor coverings made from natural and recycled materials. In the fall of 2003, the school installed a 24-kilowatt photovoltaic (solar electric) system that produces and estimated 30,000-kilowatt hours of electricity each year directly from the sun.
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Building Features: Architect: Margo Jones Construction Cost: $14.5 mil approx. Square Feet: 89,000 |
Builder: David J. Tierney Jr., Inc. Building Style: Brick, pitched roof with dormers Year Built: 2002 Fuel Type: Oil, natural gas Window Brand: Pella |
Hoosac Wind Project
Florida and Monroe, MA
The Hoosac Wind Project is a wind power facility to be located on two ridgelines in the towns towns of Florida and Monroe. For more information on the project, visit www.hoosacwind.com. You'll find up to date information about the timeline of the project, as well as images that simulate the view of the wind turbines from various points around Berkshire County.
Berkshire Visitor's Bureau
Adams, MA
This new $2.5 million dollar facility houses a Visitor Center and the Berkshire Visitors Bureau headquarters.
The building is heated and cooled through a computer controlled geothermal energy system.
Pipes reach 300 feet underground to pump ground water, which is at a constant year round temperature,
for temperature control.
The Bureau’s headquarters includes offices for marketing, public relations, advertising,
membership, lodging reservation services and administration.
Knowles Residence
Lenox, MA
This home is South-facing, set about 150’ back from the street. It is two story, contemporary style, brick faced (South only), with attached 2 car garage and a small entry porch and medium sized rear deck. The South-facing side is largely glass, both sliding doors and fixed windows.
It is unique in being “Envelope” design: there is a 10’ deep gallery space between the South wall and the main living spaces, and a narrow space between the North wall and living spaces.
The domestic solar water system was designed and built in original construction. There are two Sepco (Salisbury, MA) hydrastone-lined solar heat exchanger tanks, in series, in the basement, connected to the roof panels by a circulating anti-freeze loop.. The original tank was replaced in 1993.
A 1 kW utility interactive P.V. installation was added Fall 2003 under the MTC Grant program. It has a “Sunny Boy” 1800U String Inverter for MassElectric interface, four “ASE-300-DGF/50” modules (RWE Schott Solar Inc. Billerica, MA) on the roof , a meter, surge protection, and a disconnect switch.
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Building Features: Square Feet: 2,200 |
Building Style: Contemporary, wood frame, "Hybrid Envelope Design" Year Built: 1981 Fuel Type: Electricity Annual Electric Use: 10,800 kWh (5 year average) |
Hall Street Residence
Williamstown, MA
The Hall Street Project is a partnership of the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation (WRLF)
and Northern Berkshire Habitat for Humanity (NBHFH)., WRLF purchased a lot and donated it
to NBHFH for the construction of affordable housing. The architect worked with students of
McCann Vocational Technical School to design an energy efficient home to reduce the owner’s
living expenses. The result is a compact, affordable home constructed with off-the-shelf
materials by over 120 local volunteers putting in 4000 hours of labor. Highlights of the
home include a high level of insulation and a 1 kW photovoltaic system to provide a portion
of the home’s electrical needs. PV panels were donated by RWE Schott and the installation
was a gift from Chris Kilfoyle of Berkshire Photovoltaic Services of Adams.