Danbury technical school opens green-building education lab

From left, David Kalafa, state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection; state Rep. David Arconti; Stacy Butkus, Henry Abbott Technical High School principal; state Rep. Dan Carter; Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton; Connecticut Technical High School Superintendent Nivea Torres; U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty; state Rep. Bob Godfrey; United Illuminating”™s Lisa Sarubbi; Connecticut Light & Power”™s Diana McCarthy-Bercury; CL&P”™s Matt Gibbs; and the Connecticut Business & Industry Association”™s Judy Resnick.
From left, David Kalafa, state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection; state Rep. David Arconti; Stacy Butkus, Henry Abbott Technical High School principal; state Rep. Dan Carter; Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton; Connecticut Technical High School System Superintendent Nivea Torres; U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty; state Rep. Bob Godfrey; United Illuminating”™s Lisa Sarubbi; Connecticut Light & Power”™s Diana McCarthy-Bercury; CL&P”™s Matt Gibbs; and the Connecticut Business & Industry Association”™s Judy Resnick.

The Connecticut Technical High School System and Energize Connecticut recently announced the opening of the state’s seventh E-House at Henry Abbott Technical High School in Danbury.

The E-House initiative has students and faculty build learning laboratories equipped for a curriculum focusing on green construction, clean energy and energy efficiency. E-Houses are for the schools”™ architectural, carpentry, electrical and plumbing faculty and students. Students can conduct hands-on fieldwork and earn professional certifications that prepare them for green careers after graduation.

Each E-House incorporates weatherization and energy efficiency labs, solar photovoltaic and solar thermal systems in its project design. Thin-film solar photovoltaic panels, a Wi-Fi smart thermostat and energy-efficient heating, lighting and insulation also are employed. Unique to the Abbott Tech E-House is an evacuated tube drain-back solar thermal system, according to the announcement of the opening.

“The fields of energy efficiency and renewable energy are more valuable than ever, as we are witnessing a clean energy boom on the local, state and national level,” said Nivea Torres, superintendent of the Connecticut Technical High School System, in a statement. “The E-House educational initiative ensures that Connecticut remains a national leader in green jobs creation, and that our students are equipped to fill these jobs.”

The E-House project is supported by Energize Connecticut and jointly administered by Connecticut Light & Power and The United Illuminating Co. Energize Connecticut’s stated goal is for students to install an E-House at every technical high school in the state.

More than 650 Abbott Tech students and 20 special guests attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony, including U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty; Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton; state Rep. David Arconti; state Rep. Dan Carter; state Rep. Bob Godfrey; David Kalafa of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection; Matt Gibbs, CL&P director of energy efficiency; and Marissa Westbrook, United Illuminating Co. manager of residential services.

The state’s first E-House opened in September 2011 at E.C. Goodwin Technical High School in New Britain.