2015 CTGBC Green Building Awards
SEPTEMBER 04, 2015
Steven Winter Associates, Inc., (SWA) is pleased to announce that the Benker Residence in South Glastonbury, Connecticut, has been selected for the Residential Award of Merit by the Connecticut Green Building Council (CTGBC) for its inclusion of significant energy efficiency and resiliency measures. Chosen from a highly competitive field of submissions, the net-zero energy residence will be honored at the 2015 CTGBC Green Building Awards ceremony taking place on September 17th in Bridgeport, CT. Now in their seventh year, the awards celebrate new construction and renovation projects in the residential, commercial, and public sectors that demonstrate significant commitment to energy and water conservation, use of low impact materials, effective site design and transport linkage, and indoor air quality.
“It was important to us to build a home that was both durable and energy-efficient. By doing so, we will not only save money in the long run, but also achieve a lower overall environmental impact,” said homeowner Carl Benker. “We followed the most current building science construction principles, and the house will use no fossil fuels anywhere. The builder, Glastonbury Housesmith, made the house a huge success in our eyes.”
The home’s resiliency measures include meeting coastal structural codes, a basement storm shelter, and a photovoltaic (PV) system that can be switched to secure power supply functionality in the event that the power grid is down. A ground-source heat pump provides heating, cooling, and pre-heats the water to supply the water-source heat pump. A solar tracking photovoltaic array provides 17.6kW and brings the HERS Index to -23 (prior to PV installation, the HERS Index was 30).
In addition to winning the CTGBC Residential Award of Merit, the Benker Residence was recently selected as the CT Zero Energy Challenge Overall Winner, along with receiving top honors in the RESNET 2015 Cross Border Builder Challenge for achieving the lowest HERS Index among houses using solar PV systems. SWA provided certification support in the ENERGY STAR®, LEED® for Homes™ and National Green Building Standard™ (NGBS) programs. With this victory, the Benker Residence joins six other SWA properties that have won similar CTGBC awards since 2013.
About Steven Winter Associates
Steven Winter Associates, Inc. (SWA) provides research, consulting, and advisory services to improve commercial, residential, and multifamily built environments for private and public sector clients. The firm specializes in energy, sustainability, and accessibility consulting as well as certification, research & development, and compliance services. For more information, visit www.swinter.com