CMTA, Inc.

Architect:

VMDO

Scope Of Work

Reducing Energy Consumption, 60% Energy Savings for New School

CMTA built on years of sustainable design to take the challenge of reducing energy consumption for the new Bluestone Elementary School for Harrisonburg City Public Schools in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Thanks to our expert consulting and design team, CMTA was able to exceed the ’s energy efficiency goals, while maintaining the project budget.

THE CHALLENGES

Providing an energy efficient school without adversely affecting the budget

A simpler HVAC system that works

Building a school which supports a culture of connected learning

Maintain efficiency and affordability while providing a highly aesthetic lighting design

THE SOLUTIONS

When we began working with Harrisonburg City Public Schools, the project team was requested to meet a budget that typically provides an average school for the district; however, the design team challenged the  to believe more was possible. By attacking energy use targets, discussing several HVAC and lighting options, and collaborating with the owner, Harrisonburg City Public Schools was able to drastically reduce their energy consumption without adversely affecting the budget and providing a less complex HVAC system(s) as provided in the previous schools.

To push this project to the next level, we worked with the school district in researching the available HVAC and lighting systems, providing options which addressed the owner’s maintenance concerns while reducing their average energy consumption by sixty percent. During initial HVAC discussions, several maintenance concerns were mentioned, including an issue at the recently built high school which included a conventional boiler/chiller/VAV system in which the maintenance department could not get replacement parts for the newer equipment. CMTA’s solution, based on past success, led the owner to the decision of using a geothermal heat pump system which was much easier to maintain while consuming less energy than their existing schools. Harrisonburg City Public Schools requested philosophy was to “keep it simple.”

One challenge that our team had to overcome was the philosophy of doing the same thing as included in the previous designs. The design team proposed several approaches to the project, including site layout, building design, and energy modeling; the final approach provided an energy efficient solution while providing a school which met owner’s educational goals. CMTA was able to truly partner with the  and owner, designing a school with excellent learning environment that would drastically reduce the district’s typical energy consumption.

Decorative lighting is typically not affordable or efficient. In order to avoid breaking the budget or increasing energy usage the design team searched for ways in each space to use inexpensive LED lighting fixtures for maximum effect. This involved detailed discussions and close coordination with the architectural team to ensure a cohesive design. Decorative fixtures were provided in high impact areas while maintaining simplicity and clean lines in all other spaces. A granular, recursive approach to lighting simulation ensured reduced fixture counts as well as prevented over-lit spaces. This helped allow the project to bid under budget while achieving a Lighting Power Density (LPD) of 0.43W/sf or approximately three times better than code minimum.