By CEN Staff

MILLIKEN - In recent months the City and County of Boulder have garnered national media attention in their quest to become leaders for smarter, energy efficient homebuilding. An annnoucement this week is bound to add to the bling. Boulder County confirmed it has awarded a pilot project to All American Homes of Colorado, LLC, a subsidiary of Coachmen Industries, Inc., to build two affordable, cost effective homes using a significant level of renewable energy.

As the owner/developer of the property site in Lafayette, the County believes the pilot project could be a model for municipal public housing departments around the country. It hopes to reduce the short-term impact on the neighborhood and reduce the long-term carbon footprint created by these buildings by combining leading-edge technology and modular construction practices.

The International Energy Conservation Code has been used as the design and energy benchmark for the homes.

The contemporary designed homes will include between 887 and 1,458 square feet of living space and feature solar PV and solar thermal panels, foam insulation and other energy-saving equipment and construction techniques. One building will use a geothermal heating system; the second will
employ a more traditional high-efficiency gas furnace with solar thermal for comparative study.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Department of Energy are collaborative partners on the project.

It is expected that the homes will be delivered to the Lafayette site by the end of this month and be ready for occupancy by the end of June.

Boulder County Housing Authority (BCHA) manager, Scott Simkus, says he anticipates the pilot project will establish a blueprint for a much larger development on a 14 acre site in Lafayette later this year, with All American Homes providing the housing.