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

  • Texas Recruitment

    Texas Recruitment

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The University of Texas at Austin's Texas Recruitment has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of Renovation.

  • Porter Family Center

    Porter Family Center for Innovation and Academics

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The Porter Family Center for Innovation and Academics has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

  • A digital silhouette works at a computer, immersed in a glowing, interconnected world

    How Will AI Transform Learning Space Design?

    For years, higher education has designed learning spaces around technology as a tool for display, capture, collaboration, and connectivity. AI changes that equation.

  • USC Launches Major AI Initiative After $200M Gift

    The University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Calif., recently announced that it has launched a “transformational” new AI initiative thanks to a $200M gift, according to a news release. The project will leverage AI toward breakthroughs and innovations in subjects like the health sciences, business, security, and the arts.