Written and reported by Patch editor Ellyn Santiago.
‘Green’ buildings, studies show, use less energy, emit less carbon dioxide, are cheaper to maintain and, it turns out, people in those buildings are just happier.
Plus, they’re really cool. Just ask the students at Ella T. Grasso Southeastern Technical High School who built an E-House, the third one of its kind in the state. The students hail from Groton, Stonington, Montville, Ledyard, Waterford, New London and East Lyme.
“I liked it because I got to learn a lot of stuff about green technology that I didn’t know before,” said Ryan Houston, a Grasso plumbing and heating department student from Montville.
And now former Grasso student Kelsey Reeves, who is currently a freshman at UConn studying environmental engineering, worked on the E-House her last year at the Groton-based technical high school. She said the project and the skills she learned helped her win an internship with the City of Groton’s wastewater treatment plant.
“It was just a really great opportunity,” she said.
At the grand opening and ribbon cutting of the E-House, a nationally recognized educational initiative at Connecticut’s tech schools, educators, dignitaries and project partners joined students to unveil the ‘house’ in a well-attended ceremony Wednesday morning.
Designed and built by students and faculty, the E-House incorporates solar photovoltaic and solar thermal systems, weatherization and energy efficiency labs in the design of the project. The initiative has given Grasso students the chance to do real hands-on fieldwork in these various labs, preparing them for a green career after graduation.
Grasso’s E-House is the third in the state with the others in Torrington and New Britain. The project is jointly funded by the Energy Efficiency Fund and the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA) and is administered by Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating.
The students that designed and built the E-House at Grasso include (but is not limited to) the following:
Juniors
Jonathan Aqunio, New London
Jacob Bergeson, Waterford
Sean Boulay, Montville
James Gauthier, Groton
Lewis Howland, Ledyard
Tonia Johnson, Norwich
Raymond Juska, East Lyme
Thomas Kane, North Stonington
Cody McPartland, Montville
Eleni Miner, Groton
Daniel Perkins, Ledyard
Elijah Pysyk, New London
Tyler Voels, Montville
Seniors
Benjamin Carter, Montville
Lawrence Espinal, New London
Chase Gilman, Groton
Joshua Gomes, Stonington
Michael Guzallis, East Lyme
Jose Guzman, New London
James Lowney, Groton
Christine Murray, Groton
Mitchell Pavao, North Stonington
Shayli Rivera, Norwich
John Valero, Montville
Edward Velez, New London
Matise Venett, Montville
Video of the project was created by:
Royal Snyder, Groton
E-House signage was created by:
Alex Coombs, Oakdale
Rasal Rahman, Norwich
The Culinary department students catered the ribbon cutting ceremony (with delicious pastries and banana bread!)
‘Green’ buildings, studies show, use less energy, emit less carbon dioxide, are cheaper to maintain and, it turns out, people in those buildings are just happier.
Plus, they’re really cool. Just ask the students at Ella T. Grasso Southeastern Technical High School who built an E-House, the third one of its kind in the state. The students hail from Groton, Stonington, Montville, Ledyard, Waterford, New London and East Lyme.
“I liked it because I got to learn a lot of stuff about green technology that I didn’t know before,” said Ryan Houston, a Grasso plumbing and heating department student from Montville.
And now former Grasso student Kelsey Reeves, who is currently a freshman at UConn studying environmental engineering, worked on the E-House her last year at the Groton-based technical high school. She said the project and the skills she learned helped her win an internship with the City of Groton’s wastewater treatment plant.
“It was just a really great opportunity,” she said.
At the grand opening and ribbon cutting of the E-House, a nationally recognized educational initiative at Connecticut’s tech schools, educators, dignitaries and project partners joined students to unveil the ‘house’ in a well-attended ceremony Wednesday morning.
Designed and built by students and faculty, the E-House incorporates solar photovoltaic and solar thermal systems, weatherization and energy efficiency labs in the design of the project. The initiative has given Grasso students the chance to do real hands-on fieldwork in these various labs, preparing them for a green career after graduation.
Grasso’s E-House is the third in the state with the others in Torrington and New Britain. The project is jointly funded by the Energy Efficiency Fund and the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA) and is administered by Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating.
The students that designed and built the E-House at Grasso include (but is not limited to) the following:
Juniors
Jonathan Aqunio, New London
Jacob Bergeson, Waterford
Sean Boulay, Montville
James Gauthier, Groton
Lewis Howland, Ledyard
Tonia Johnson, Norwich
Raymond Juska, East Lyme
Thomas Kane, North Stonington
Cody McPartland, Montville
Eleni Miner, Groton
Daniel Perkins, Ledyard
Elijah Pysyk, New London
Tyler Voels, Montville
Seniors
Benjamin Carter, Montville
Lawrence Espinal, New London
Chase Gilman, Groton
Joshua Gomes, Stonington
Michael Guzallis, East Lyme
Jose Guzman, New London
James Lowney, Groton
Christine Murray, Groton
Mitchell Pavao, North Stonington
Shayli Rivera, Norwich
John Valero, Montville
Edward Velez, New London
Matise Venett, Montville
Video of the project was created by:
Royal Snyder, Groton
E-House signage was created by:
Alex Coombs, Oakdale
Rasal Rahman, Norwich
The Culinary department students catered the ribbon cutting ceremony (with delicious pastries and banana bread!)
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