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

  • 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.

  • William Penn Charter School

    Richard A. Balderston OPC’69 Lower School

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The Richard A. Balderston OPC’69 Lower School has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of New Construction.

  • Montclair State University Debuts New VR Facility

    Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J., recently announced the completion of a new virtual reality learning facility developed in partnership with Dreamscape Learn, according to a news release. The 2,450-square-foot lab space is inside the College of Communication and Media building and will serve students pursuing careers in digital media, virtual reality, and content creation.

  • University of Rochester to Break Ground on New Student Life Center

    The University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y., recently began construction on a new Student Life building, according to a news release. The first floor will contain campus-wide gathering, program, and rehearsal space; the second floor will play home to the Greenbaum Center for Jewish Life.