SAVE - Rooted in the environment, branching into the community
Connections
The following images represent many of the Green technologies and environmental strategies featured at Connections, our environmental classroom and lab.
The Connections building was built using GreenBlocks which are double insulated styrofoam that is filled using concrete making Connections super insulated. No heat lost here in winter!
Connections was also built into the hillside which facilitates protection from cold Northerly air in winter, keeping it warmer in the winter months and cooler in summer months.
90% of the windows in the building are South facing, which allows solar energy to enter the building during cold winter months. No windows are located on the north side of the building which saves energy and heating costs.
The floor of Connections is called a thermal mass surface, which absorbs low angle sunlight in winter months and reradiates that energy into the air space at night. This feature keeps heating costs low and never allows the temperature to drop below the mid-40's, even on the coldest night of the year. 
The Connections building was built with a Green Roof. The structurally reinforced green roof can withstand over 20,000 lbs of soil and plants and is designed to be energy efficient (cool in summer, insulating in winter) as well as aesthetically pleasing. The rectangular extensions protruding from the facade of the building are built to help vines grow down and dangle in front of the building to help keep cool in summer months.
The landscape lights leading to the Connections building are powered using wind energy. A turbine generates energy which is stored in a battery within Connections. Let there be light!
The heating system within the building is radiant floor heating using hot water which passes through a series of pipes under the floor. The water is heated using electric generated from the solar panels and the radiant floor heats 100% of the air space within the building from the floor on up!
The Connections building has an energy flaw! Unfortunately, it was built with 4 skylight windows which lose heat in the winter time. Any glass surface is a place where heat can be lost and in wintertime when heat is needed, it can escape through these windows in the ceiling.
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