High performance schools are economical. The integrated approach to high performance school design reaps significant rewards at the bottom line. Often times high performance schools are more expensive upfront (typically by 2-5% based on national studies), but the initial investment is returned and significant savings (as much as $100,000 in annual energy related savings alone) are accrued over the life of the building. Dollars saved by efficient high performance schools can be redirected by taxpayers to where they are needed most. Economic incentives for high performance schools are increasing as energy-efficiency and academic quality rise to the top of national and regional priorities.
Through the use of life cycle costing methods, high performance schools are specifically designed to minimize the long-term costs of ownership. Such schools use less energy and water than standard schools and are easy to maintain. As a consequence, overall operating costs are low and will remain so over the life of the facility.
Life cycle analyses are used to predict these costs at various points during the design of a school. Predicted costs for alternative design approaches can then be compared until the approach that provides the lowest overall cost of ownership consistent with the quality level desired for the facility can be selected.
SPECIAL NOTE: One of the key impediments to optimizing school facilities from a life cycle perspective is the standard separation of capital and operating budgets - common in school districts across the US, and certainly in NH. In such situations, there is little incentive to make capital spending decisions based on their potential for operational or maintenance savings later. This approach often yields new schools that meet their initial budgetary constraints, but may be sub-optimal from a total facility cost perspective. The only way to ensure that operation and maintenance costs become part of the capital cost decision-making process is to make life cycle cost analysis an integral part of the design process. The result will be schools that represent better long-term investments of a community's short-term capital funds.top of page
Energy Modeling Tools
Energy modeling tools make possible accurate and readily available analyses of energy consumption and allow comparison and manipulation of energy variables to determine greatest efficiency. These computer simulations are run by your architect, your mechanical engineer, or by a third-party professional. Working early on in the design process, these models can be used to inform the building design strategies and offer energy performance savings.
In addition, energy modeling tools can be used as educational resources that offer real, dynamic data to students and encourage their interest in the efficiency of their school and the health of the environment.
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Energy Efficient Building Envelope
The building envelope, or shell, refers to the walls, roofs, floors, windows, and doors, and, if poorly executed, can have a major impact on the building’s total energy consumption. A school cannot perform efficiently or economically without a well-designed, functional envelope, as nearly all other systems (i.e., lighting, heating, cooling, air exchange) are influenced by it.
A whole-building, proactive approach is of the utmost importance in constructing an envelope that is secure, durable, easily maintained, and acoustically, thermally, and visually comfortable. High performance schools take issues of insulation, daylight transmittance, solar heat gain, local climatic conditions, shading, air leakage control, and the thermal mass and reflective qualities of building materials into account from the site-selection stage forward. These considerations can reduce the size and cost of heating/ventilating/air conditioning systems, helping to save money and natural resources. top of page
Renewable Energy Technologies
New Hampshire’s renewable energy resources are sufficient to provide savings via daylighting, passive and active water and space heating and cooling, integrated photovoltaic systems, natural ventilation, wind power, wood and biomass heating, hydroelectric power, and biodiesel fuel. With the cost of fossil fuels (i.e., oil, propane, natural gas) rising, renewable energy technologies can be implemented into schools with as little as a two-year return on investment. These innovative and intelligent technologies will reduce air pollution while helping to introduce and acclimate students to the future of energy.
Typical renewable energy technologies in New Hampshire include solar panels for heating hot water, solar electric panels for electricity generation, wind turbines for electricity generation, and wood pellet or wood chip wood boilers for heating water and space heating. New Hampshire’s forest products industry is a direct provider of the fuel for the last technology, and it keeps money in our local economy.
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Daylighting
Natural daylight is the highest quality light for visual tasks. Studies show that daylighting offers natural psychological and physiological benefits including the promotion of physical development and the regulation of mood-altering hormones. In several studies, abundant daylight has been shown to improve student achievement on standardized tests by as much as 26%. Furthermore, daylight reduces the need for electric lighting, thereby reducing operational lighting costs and cooling costs, as heat is a byproduct of electric lighting.
The admission of daylight through appropriately positioned windows, skylights, and roof monitors, such that glare and excessive heat loss and gain are avoided, is a cost-effective and energy efficient means of improving productivity, visual comfort, and natural ventilation. What’s more, daylighting reduces the use of nonrenewable, green-house-gas producing fossil fuels and provides students a visual and physical connection with the outdoors.
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High Efficiency Electric Lighting
Electric lighting can account for as much as 50% of a school’s electric power requirements. High quality, efficient electric lighting and fixtures may require a slightly higher initial investment, but the operations savings typically payback that increase within the first year or two of operation. Such preemptive planning, when used in concert with daylighting design and technology, will optimize visual quality and efficiency. The utility companies in New Hampshire offer rebate programs for school districts who wish to undertake lighting upgrades or install new, efficient lighting. When used in combination with daylighting strategies and integrated controls, even more energy can be saved.
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High Performance Heating/Ventilating/Air Conditioning
Ventilation is critically important in all occupied buildings, but none more so than schools. Because of their small size and rapid respiration rate, children breathe a greater volume of air proportionally than adults, and the occupant-to-space ratio is higher in schools than in offices and residences. The poor air quality and thermal discomfort of poorly functioning heating/ventilating/air conditioning systems negatively affects the health, morale, and productivity of students and teachers. What’s more, many heating/ventilating/air conditioning systems are inefficient and oversized resulting in excessive and costly energy consumption. In 2000, 53% of New Hampshire schools reported problems with their heating/ventilating/air conditioning systems.
Because of the integrated and energy efficient approach of high performance school design, heating and cooling loads are reduced and, as such, heating/ventilating/air conditioning systems can be downsized. For instance, more insulation in the walls and roof combined with more energy efficient windows and doors, will result in smaller heating/ventilating/air conditioning system requirements. Smaller high efficiency equipment is cheaper to purchase and operate over the life of the building, resulting in significant savings. Individual heating/ventilating/air conditioning controls in classrooms allow teachers to optimize teaching and learning conditions for themselves and their students.
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Water Efficiency
Although fresh water is not as scarce in New Hampshire as it is in other parts of the country, measures should still be taken to minimize water consumption. Many of our schools tie in to city or town water systems and pay monthly costs for this utility. Controlling runoff, treating and reusing wastewater, and employing water-efficient landscaping practices can reduce a school’s operating expenses while protecting the environment and educating students about ecological processes and conservation. Simple measures, such as low flow water fixtures (i.e., faucets and toilets) or installing waterless urinals, can have dramatic reductions in water use with fairly rapid paybacks.
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