UAFS conservation house provides unique learning environment

An $11,000 check presentation and energy efficient demonstrations were part of the open house event held Wednesday (May 27) for the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith’s Sustainable Conservation House, an event showcasing the university’s newest learning facility.

The open house included interactive booths by local companies. An Alternative Fuel Vehicle Ride-and-Drive was also held during the event, where attendees could test drive an alternative fuel vehicle, as well as demonstrations of energy efficiency. The ride-and-drive was sponsored by UAFS, Falcon CNG and the Arkansas Clean Cities Coalition.

The open house also showcased a learning facility unique to the state and region. The house is part classroom and part laboratory, with students able to apply concepts learned in the former to the latter. The house is designed to provide training in energy efficient concepts and energy auditing, areas which are in dire need of workers. According to a study by the U.S. Green Building Council, green construction supports more than two million jobs and generates more than $100 billion in gross domestic product in wages. 

Dr. Paul Beran, UAFS chancellor, cited the study during his remarks at a private donor event before the open house to prove the increasing demand the house will address.
 
“There is a need for people trained in energy audits and who can make recommendations for energy savings,” Beran said. “The house will serve as a working laboratory for our students to get the hands-on training that they need to be successful. Here, they will learn about the latest green technology as they are being prepared for careers in the energy auditing field.”
 
Wendy Swenson of West Fork provided a student’s perspective on the house. Swenson was interested in energy efficiency and learned about the house through a story broadcast on KUAF, the public radio arm of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. She enrolled in the energy auditing program at UAFS and is now continuing her training with Knierim Enterprises. She has also received an offer to become an independent contractor with the Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative.
 
“Because of this program, because of the university’s Sustainable Conservation House, I’m experiencing great success in the field that I’ve chosen,” Swenson said.
 
Oklahoma Gas & Electric also presented the UAFS Foundation an $11,000 check at the event to help fund the house’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning, a gift which earned the praise of Dr. Mary Lackie, vice chancellor for university advancement and executive director of the UAFS Foundation.
 
“We are so appreciative of this gift for the Sustainable Conservation House. Without support from OG&E and our other generous donors, this hands-on laboratory would not be available for our students,” Lackie said. “It’s an exciting project that provides the ideal space to train energy auditors, and it represents another successful partnership between UAFS and our community.”
 
The idea for the Sustainable Conservation House originated in 2013, when John Martini, assistant professor of electronics technology, met Doug Knierim, president and owner of Knierim Enterprises, while teaching energy auditing courses at the university.
 
“We would take our classes out on energy audits, and Mr. Knierim’s group was in charge of the audits,” Martini said. “We started talking about how it would be nice to have a local testing facility for audits like that.”
 
With the closest facilities for such training in Oklahoma City and Little Rock, Martini and Knierim partnered to try to bring such a facility to the UAFS campus. The university acquired the property in 2014 and began renovating it that fall through the donation of materials and labor from local companies.
 
“We completely gutted the house down to nothing and built it back up,” Martini said. “The people who helped on this project had to work around their other jobs. They did it as part of their regular workload.”
 
Local businesses that contributed to the Sustainable Conservation House were: All American Building Materials, Arkansas Oklahoma Gas Corporation (AOG), Arkansas Lighting, Arkansas Valley Electric Cooperative, Blaylock Heating & Air, Blaylock Plumbing Services, Boyd Metals, Cherokee Building Materials, D & D Flooring, Energy Efficiency Design and Development, Fort Smith Winsupply Co., Harry G. Barr Company, Hickory Springs, J & B Supply Company, Knierim Enterprises, Larry Gordon Construction, Chuck Liggett, Lumber One, Mack Thompson & Son Signs, Oklahoma Gas & Electric (OG&E), Ozark Solar, Rheem Air Conditioning Division, Rick Rosenthal, Sanders Supply, Sealant Tech, Service Master, Sherwin-Williams, Superior Siding & Window, Water Furnace, Wholesale Electric Sales, and Lowe’s of Van Buren.