Sustainability Demonstration House

The Office of Sustainability is located in the Sustainability Demonstration House at 12 Cragmor Village Road. 
Our residential house is located AFTER The Lookout apartment complex. If you're looking to tour the SDH, please book an appointment with us through email!

Find us on the campus map under the acronym: SUST. 

The goal of the UCCS Sustainability Demonstration Center is to become Net Zero and reduce use of all resources. We are looking to partner with many organizations and entities to transform this modern house into an interactive, educational platform to engage our community on the impact their homes have on their personal carbon footprint. 
 

• Interface Carpet has donated carpet from their NetEffects collection which reuses old fishing nets from the Philippines in the carpet fibers. Any profit from this collection is given back to those communities to help with disaster relief.
• All American Window Tinting  installed Huber Optik in a southwest upstairs office resulting in a 70% reduction in thermal intake (from 181btu's to 42btu's.) This will improve thermal comfort and reduce the need for the attic fan, thus reducing the use of electricity.
• SunShare provided solar panels for the demonstration house. These solar panels reduce our use of energy generated from fossil fuels and move us toward our goal of becoming a net zero facility.
• Energy Resource Center provided the house with a free energy audit. This enables us to understand our baseline, problem areas and low-hanging fruit that will help us achieve zero emissions. They also co-hosted a workshop to insulate our attic and identify and fix other areas to increase the efficiency of the house envelope. 
• UCCS Green Action Fund awarded the Sustainability Office a grant to conduct efficiency projects and workshops along with installation and eight scholarships for UCCS students to learn from a Photovoltaic 101 course on solar design and installation with the final project as an installation of a 3.5 kilowatt system on the house’s roof
• Niagara provided three WaterSense toilets and two WaterSense shower heads. The toilets demonstrate 0.8 gallons per flush; 0.5/0.9 gallons dual flush and 1.6 gallons per flush. 
• The Demonstration House has had many partners assist with the front yard renovation to support in educating our campus and Colorado Springs community on the many benefits of Water Wise landscaping and using native plants:
  • Colorado Springs Utilities provided design assistance and irrigation technology
  • Colorado Garden Foundation awarded grant funding to assist in the renovation
  • UCCS Green Action Fund awarded grant funding to assist in the renovation
  • Phelan Gardens provided discounted trees
  • Harding Nursery donated trees, bushes, flowers and ground cover
  • Weisburg Landscape Maintenance provided discounted management, expertise, and installation of the project
  • Rain Bird donated irrigation supplies and expertise
  • Rocky Top Resources donated boulders for seating to enjoy the space
  • Britton Nursery donated flowers and ground cover
  • Heidrich's Colorado Tree Farm donated shrubs
  • Fort Collins Nursery donated shrubs
  • SiteOne donated landscape lighting, mulch, and landscape fabric and edging
  • Brady's Nursery donated trees and shrubs

Our partners will receive recognition in the many tours provided to campus and community members along with signage posted throughout the Demonstration Center recognizing the specific donation and how it is impacting our goal of becoming Net Zero. The signage will also include information for further research. 

Interested in partnering with us? Contact sustain@uccs.edu, we'd love to start a conversation