Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

(Day) Lighting the net-zero energy classroom building

  • 10/01/13
Solatube 

Solatube Daylighting Systems helped the Lenawee Intermediate School District to create a net-zero energy classroom building, completed in June 2013.

The Lenawee Intermediate School District (LISD) has installed numerous Solatube Daylighting Systems made by Solatube International, Inc., the worldwide leading manufacturer and marketer of Tubular Daylighting Devices (TDDs), in its groundbreaking Center for a Sustainable Future (CSF) in Adrian, Mich. The CSF features 21 Solatube 750DS-C units and five 750DS-O units, which were designed for school and commercial applications.

The Solatube Daylighting Systems were installed in the new 8,600-square-foot, state-of-the-art, net-zero energy classroom building, which was completed in June 2013 and targeting LEED Platinum certification. The facility is designed to produce as much energy as it uses, a first for a K-12 building in Michigan. The state-of-the-art educational campus embodies environmental sustainability and offers hands-on learning experiences in agri-science, biology, alternative energy, and strategies to reduce reliance on non-renewable resources. The team responsible for this innovative design was a combination of SHW Group, The Collaborative, Inc. and CMTA Engineers. Architectural Building Products, a Solatube Commercial Distributor for Michigan, provided the Solatube units.

“The use of Solatube Daylighting Systems is an integral part of our energy management system providing natural light which is very conducive to the learning environment,” says Jim Philp, Lenawee Intermediate School District superintendent. “Solatube products are a cost-efficient solution to provide lighting to classroom and office space. The district is currently looking into using Solatube Daylighting Systems in existing buildings, as well.”

Solatube Daylighting Systems are available through factory trained Solatube Commercial Distributors. For more information, please visit http://www.solatube.com/commercial.

solatube.com/commercial

This article originally appeared in the School Planning & Management October 2013 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Round Rock ISD Completes New Early College High School

    Round Rock ISD near Austin, Texas, recently announced that construction is complete on a new, 46,500-square-foot campus for Early College High School, according to a news release. The new facility will allow the school’s students and staff to move from portables into a permanent building and increase its enrollment to 500.

  • University of Arizona Approves New Residence Hall

    The Arizona Board of Regents recently approved plans for a new residence hall at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz., according to a news release. The new facility is scheduled to open in fall 2028 and have the capacity for more than 1,200 students, enforcing a new university expectation that all first-year students live on campus.

  • Houston-Area High School Breaks Ground on 117,000SF Multi-Use Facility

    North Shore Senior High School, part of Galena Park ISD in Houston, Texas, recently broke ground on a new multi-use facility for student extracurriculars, according to a news release. The North Shore Multi-Use Facility will include dedicated practice and training space for the school’s athletics and fine arts programs.

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.