Awards Season

Imagine!’s SmartHome project has recently been nominated for a Colorado Governor’s Excellence in Renewable Energy Award, which honors organizations that have made outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through the promotion, usage, implementation and technology development of renewable energy in Colorado.

Even more exciting, SmartHome guru Greg Wellems has been nominated for an American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Leadership Award for his visionary work on this first of its kind project. The AAIDD Leadership Award honors selected individuals or groups who have made outstanding contributions to the field.

Congrats to our team for continually being recognized for the great work being done on this ambitious project. And special good luck wishes to Greg – he is certainly deserving!

Imagine! Celebration Dinner and Auction to Benefit SmartHomes

The Imagine! Foundation has always felt that the end of January is a perfect time for its annual fund raising event, the Imagine! Celebration. The holidays are long gone, everyone is a bit weary of snow and cold (except, of course, in the high country!), and after the January lull, people are ready to get out again and mix a bit with colleagues and friends. The Celebration prides itself on providing not only a great time but also a genuine sense of the importance of the work Imagine! does every day for people with developmental disabilities. The announcement of the Consumer of the Year is always the high point of the event.

This year's special appeal will direct funds to Imagine!'s SmartHomes project.

The 9thth anniversary Celebration on Friday, January 29, 5:30-10:00 p.m. at the Radisson Conference Center in Longmont promises to be the best yet! It will feature more new specialty auction items than ever before -- everything from indoor skydiving in a vertical wind tunnel to a relaxing day-long spa treatment. There will also be trips galore from Hawaii to Greece! Be sure to check out our live auction items preceding the event here beginning on January 11.
More information about sponsors, auction items, and all of the festivities is available on the Imagine! website and Facebook page. Check back frequently!

Ticket and table prices remain the same as last year at $95/each or tables of ten for $1,250. Purchase tickets quickly and easily online. Reserve now, and we’ll look forward to seeing you on January 29th!

SmartHome, Phase II

We like to brag about the fact that our SmartHomes are full of integrated technologies that allow our residents to live fulfilling lives of independence and quality.

But we are realistic. We understand that the concept of building many of these homes is not sustainable – they are too expensive. Note that the funding for our two homes came entirely from private donations and government grants.

That is why we are using our SmartHomes as laboratories for “SmartSupports.” The homes will serve as sites for research into the use of technologies that will benefit the long term needs of individuals with disabilities in both residential and family home settings.

Here’s a quick explanation of why this is so important. The average annual cost to provide residential services for an individual with a developmental disability in Colorado is $65,000. Now, instead of moving into a residential setting, say a single piece of technology, or maybe two or three pieces of technology, were to allow an individual to live independently, or with their family, for another ten or twenty years. Even if the cost of those technologies were $20,000 or so upfront, the savings would still be substantial over the long term.

Or, conversely, if one or two technologies can reduce the operating costs for organizations (for profit or not for profit) that run residential sites serving multiple individuals with developmental disabilities and related concerns such as Alzheimer’s or elder care, those savings could be passed on to the people and organizations charged with covering the costs of those services.

This is why we are so excited to announce that we are working with Colorado WIN Partners to conduct studies on the effectiveness of technology in improving the lives of SmartHome residents. Members of the WIN team toured the Charles SmartHome yesterday, and tomorrow they will be meeting with SmartHome staff and residents as the preliminary steps in preparing their study.

The study will be funded by a $10,000 grant from IBM.

We look forward to partnering with Colorado WIN Partners as well as exploring other research options as we enter the second phase of our ambitious SmartHome project.

How the Sun Helps Us Meet Our Mission

Namaste Solar will install a 8.1kW solar PV system at our newest SmartHome in Longmont. The energy cost savings from these panels will be substantial, and will contribute to our overall mission of using SmartHomes to provide better and more efficient services to individuals with developmental disabilities.

How? Read below for more information.

The Colorado developmental disabilities system is in a state of crisis. Colorado ranks 46th in the nation in fiscal effort toward providing funding for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families, and there are currently more than 9,100 individuals with developmental disabilities and their families on a waiting list to receive services in Colorado, and that number continues to grow every year.

You may ask, what does this have to do with green building? For Imagine!, creating a new, sustainable way of assisting some of our most vulnerable citizens meant creating a comprehensive plan for increasing efficiencies while improving services at the same time. The development and construction of our SmartHomes was the result of this planning, and using green technologies and building techniques was a natural extension of this effort.

Our energy efficient efforts for our two SmartHomes begin by building a tight structure with upgraded insulation, and include passive solar heating. Some of the green technologies included in one or both of our SmartHomes include a heat recovery ventilation system, geothermal ground source heat pumps, solar photo voltaic panels (6.75kW), solar thermal system, and a whole house energy load monitoring system to help our SmartHomes reduce energy costs and improve the overall efficiency level of Imagine!’s service provision. Most importantly, these efforts and technologies embody the core of Imagine!’s mission, which is to provide tools and supports that allow people with developmental disabilities to become active members of their community and contributing citizens. Living in a home designed to limit impacts on the environment and human health, and enhance their neighbors’ lives, certainly enables SmartHome residents to contribute in a tangible and meaningful way to their community.