Poudre School District – Operations Center, Fort Collins, Colorado – Ground-source Heat pumps, heat recovery, natural ventilation, daylighting, and more
Design of ground-source heat pump system, heat-recovery ventilation, daylighting and occupancy sensors integration with mechanical, and demonstration solar photovoltaic system; Excellent Use of Renewable Energy in Buildings award from the Colorado Renewable Energy Society, 2002; Regional ASHRAE Award in 2003 for New Institutional Buildings category. Colorado Renewable Energy Society 2002 Renewable Energy in Buildings award for daylighting and mechanical engineering. Current Energy Star rating is 99. Michael was the project manager for mechanical, daylighting, and electrical systems design.
This 8,860 square foot demonstration project contained the necessary ingredients for successful sustainable design – an Owner committed to green building concepts; energy and life-cycle analyses to optimize system selections; an integrated design team that understands the synergies needed for mechanical, electrical, lighting, and architectural systems to work together; and systems commissioning to assure installation in accordance with the design intent. The integrated design process enabled the building envelope loads to be minimized and assurance that the mechanical system could be right-sized for the actual load. The mechanical engineer and lighting designer collaborated with glazing selection for effective natural daylighting, and with the Owner to plan for task lighting supplementing indirect-direct cable-hung luminaires to achieve reduced HAVC loads. The selected mechanical system design is a ground-coupled (ground-source) heat pump (GSHP) system with 300 ft. deep “wells” for heat exchange with the earth. A small roof-integrated demonstration solar-PV system provides an educational opportunity for students. The project was designed with the directive from the Owner to “display” the building systems in a manner that would be educational to visiting students and the public. The result was the lowest energy use rate for any building in the school district.