Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Better HVAC for a Sustainable School

  • 04/01/17
HVAC

The Willow School was able to earn the Living Building challenge certification with help from Mitsubishi Electric’s VRF system.

Mark and Gretchen Biedron co-founded the The Willow School (Willow) in Gladstone, N.J., to celebrate learning and collaboration, and foster ethical relationships between people and the natural systems that support them. Sustainability drives the curriculum and building design, which led to the selection of a Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) system from Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating (Mitsubishi Electric) for its Health, Wellness and Nutrition Center.

Biedron and his team took on the Living Building Challenge (LBC) for the Health, Wellness and Nutrition Center, which required everything in the building to be 100-percent electric. The team chose VRF over an all-electric geothermal system because “VRF was well ahead on net-zero efficiency.” The need for an electric kitchen contributed to the selection of highefficiency electric heat pumps and photovoltaic panels to offset the energy used.

Including Lossnay Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERVs) further improved efficiencies. When conditions are agreeable for natural ventilation, a controls system prompts teachers and students to open classroom windows. Otherwise, the ERVs recover energy from exhaust air to simultaneously cool or heat outside ventilation air.

“We had to remain net-zero or netpositive. With solar panels and the Mitsubishi [Electric] system, we were able to achieve that,” says Biedron. “A conventional facility built to code uses between 100-150 kBtu per square foot …but this building uses only 21 kBtu per square foot. If you remove the kitchen, it would only use 15 kBtu per square foot.” Willow is one of the most energy-efficient buildings in the country.

The project earned LBC certification and is also recognized as a Green Ribbon School by the United States DOE.

www.mitsubishipro.com

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Deferred Maintenance Issues Growing at Universities, Gordian Reports

    U.S. colleges and universities are falling increasingly behind on facilities maintenance and repair, according to Gordian’s 13th annual State of Facilities in Higher Education report. The deferred capital renewal burden has reached $156 per gross square foot, an 8% increase over the previous year.

  • South Carolina District Starts Construction on $50M Middle School Renovation

    The Aiken County Public School District in North Augusta, S.C., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the $50-million renovation and expansion of North Augusta Middle School, according to a news release. The project’s funding comes from the 2024 renewal of a one-cent sales tax approved by local voters.

  • Chartwells Launches Campus Dining Evaluation Framework

    Contract food-service management provider Chartwells Higher Education recently announced the launch of BLUEPRINT, according to a news release. The evaluation framework was designed to provide a data-driven and customizable roadmap towards optimizing campus dining services and, by extension, the student experience.

  • Moline-Coal Valley School District to Consolidate Two Schools into New Facility

    The Moline-Coal Valley School District in Moline, Ill., recently broke ground on a new elementary school that will consolidate the students and staff from two existing schools, according to local news. Robert Ontiveros Elementary School will serve as the new home for Lincoln-Irving Elementary School and Willard Elementary School.