FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GREENVILLE, S.C.—Even from a distance, the new Cliffs Cottage at Furman University doesn’t appear to be an ordinary home.  And once you take a closer look at the Southern Living Showcase Home situated near the lake on the Furman campus, you soon realize there is nothing else quite like it.

 

The Cliffs Cottage at Furman was built to be a model of environmentally responsible design, sustainable building techniques and materials, and energy-saving systems.  From the bamboo flooring to the insulated windows to the solar panels in the roof, the 3,400-square-foot residential home has all the latest technological innovations in sustainable living.

 

The commitment to sustainability doesn’t end there, however.  The same environmentally sound concepts were applied to the landscaping, organic and formal gardens, rainwater collection systems and even the driveway and walkways surrounding the home.  It is expected to be among the first residential facilities in the nation to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.

Joining Furman as principal partners in the project are Southern Living, The Cliffs Communities, Duke Energy and Bank of America.

 

“The Cliffs Cottage gives us a great opportunity to educate our editors and readers about the importance of green building and sustainability,” said Derick Belden, Executive Editor of Southern Living Magazine. 

“This unique partnership couldn’t have happened at a better time.”

 

The Cliffs Cottage opens for public tours on Saturday, June 14.  Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for senior citizens (62+), and $5 for children (6-11).  Children five-and-under admitted free.  All children must be accompanied by an adult. The tour hours are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays (9 a.m.-3 p.m.), Thursdays (9 a.m.-7 p.m.), Saturdays (9 a.m.-4:30 pm) and Sundays (10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.).  The home will be closed on Mondays.

 

The house will be open for one year and then be retrofitted as the university’s Center for Sustainability, which will provide office and meeting space for a growing array of sustainability initiatives. 

For more information, visit the Cliffs Cottage website at furmancliffscottage.com or call 864-294-2396.  Here are some of the sustainable features of the home:

 

DESIGN TECHNIQUES: The home features a passive solar design, which integrates an assortment of building features to reduce the need for cooling and heating and daytime artificial lighting.  The home is situated along an east/west axis to maximize solar heat gain in the winter and minimize it in the summer.  On the south side of the cottage, a long roof overhang shades the house in summer and allows the sun to heat the home in the winter months.

 

FOUNDATION, EXTERIOR AND INSULATION: The home uses an energy-efficient, precast foundation, natural stone and two types of insulation to seal the home and preserve its thermal mass.  The exterior stone absorbs heat that is slowly released after the sun goes down.  The spray foam insulation, free of formaldehyde, seals off air leakage, moisture, airborne allergens and noise pollutants.  The fiber glass insulation is environmentally sound, with a minimum certified recycled glass content of 25 percent.  The pervious concrete, permeable brick and gravel pave used across the site in parking areas and main walkways allow storm water to filter back into the soil instead of draining into streams and rivers.

 

GEOTHERMAL TECHNOLOGY:  The Cliffs Cottage has a geothermal heating and cooling system, which is the most environmentally responsible and energy efficient system available.  The direct exchange ground source heat pump uses the earth’s constant underground temperatures to heat the home in the winter and cool it in the summer.  Ground source heat pumps can reduce heating and cooling costs by as much as 50 percent, and they usually last three times longer than air source systems. 

 

SOLAR ENERGY: The Cliffs Cottage has two solar technologies — solar thermal for heating water and solar electric (photovoltaic) technology for generating electrical power.  Heat from the sun is captured through two roof-mounted flat plate collectors, which is then transferred to an 80-gallon storage tank.  The solar thermal technology can provide up to 80 percent of domestic hot water needs.  Photovoltaic (PV) technology is the process where sunlight is converted to electricity.  Two PV modules on the garage roof are enough to power the entire house.  Another pole-mounted PV tracks the sun as it moves east to west on one axis and north and south on another.  In addition to the home, three other PV arrays help generate a total of 30 kW for the project.  The solar features in the house are tied together by GridPoint, a computer-operated battery system that stores additional power and maximizes energy usage throughout the house.  The solar technology, in fact, will produce more power than the house needs.  The additional electricity created will be funneled to Furman’s utility grid.

 

INTERIOR DESIGN:  The house is furnished with products that are environmentally sustainable and locally sourced, from the bamboo floors to the kitchen cabinets to tile made from recycled glass.  Much of the furniture is constructed from reclaimed or sustainable harvested wood or trees removed for real estate development, and fabrics are made without toxic dyes.  The bathrooms contain low flow showerheads and faucets.

 

LANDSCAPING:  The formal and organic gardens that surround the Cliffs Cottage are an important part of the project.  The gardens feature native plants that can tolerate the region’s climate and soil conditions as well as typical ornamental plantings that are drought tolerate and easy to maintain.  Most of the water needs for the gardens will be supplied by one 12,000-gallon cistern system that collects rainwater from the roof.

 

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6-6-08

 

Contact:  Vince Moore, News and Media Relations,
Furman University, 864-294-3107; vince.moore@furman.edu