Castleton is pleased to announce that its newest residence hall, Hoff Hall, has been awarded a gold rating for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED is a suite of rating systems for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of green buildings, homes and neighborhoods. The objective of the LEED standards is to help building owners and operators find and implement ways to be resource-efficient and environmentally responsible.
There are four different levels of LEED certification, Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum that are determined by how environmentally responsible and resource efficient a building is and are awarded through an application process.
“Hoff Hall is our second LEED gold building, with the campus center being the first,” said Dean of Administration Scott Dikeman. “Achieving LEED gold is a significant accomplishment for us.”
In addition to a 28.8 kW solar array (120 panels) that was installed when the building was constructed, Hoff Hall also boasts four micro-wind turbines, which are also generating power. The turbines, with a blade diameter of three feet, produce just less than one kilowatt when operating at full power. The devices, engineered by JLM Energy in Rocklin, Calif., are the first commercial deployment of the technology in Vermont.