Students build Energy Star home
The FHTC Staff
Originally published 01:20 p.m., June 27, 2008
Updated 01:20 p.m., June 27, 2008
Not only did the students in the construction technology program at Flint Hills Technical College in Emporia, Kansas build a house from the ground up, but they also built a highly efficient home. This year’s project has been awarded a 5-Star+ rating through the Energy Star Program.
The Energy Star program is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Dept. of Energy that promotes energy efficiency.
The scale for measuring the efficiency of the home is divided into 10 levels starting with 1-star, 1-star+, 2-star, 2-star+, etc. Starting with a score of 500, points are subtracted as the home becomes more efficient. To receive a 5-star+ rating, the home has to attain a score of 70 points or lower. The home built by the FHTC construction technology students received a rating of 52. This is the highest score that has been recorded in Kansas.
This was accomplished in three ways: thinking of the house as an entire entity; paying attention to details; and modifying the structure of the house to work as part of the energy efficiency package.
“By doing this, we were able to come in with a house that will work well for the new owners.” said construction technology instructor Bill Hanlon.
The program builds a house in a residential area each year, which gives the students the opportunity to learn about other parts of house building from stakeout and concrete forming, to framing, siding, roofing, etc. The students also do all the cabinet work for the homes in a cabinet building class offered by instructor Larry Green.
“All in all, we feel that the students get a pretty good look at the home building process with an emphasis on building more energy efficient homes, and using more green building processes”, said Hanlon.
For more information on the program, visit the Flint Hills Technical College website at www.fhtc.edu or call 343-4600 or 800-711-6947. Additional information on the building system is available at www.BuildOutsideTheBox.com.