Rising energy costs and an ever-increasing understanding of the climate crisis have led many school districts to explore Net-Zero Energy strategies in their new or renovated school facilities.
Fanning Howey has been fortunate to be involved in the design of two Net-Zero K-12 schools, and we understand the integrated design approach required to achieve these results.
We have also seen the powerful ways that Net-Zero buildings serve as teaching tools for students. From energy dashboards to highly-visible renewable energy systems, a Net-Zero school teaches students about the role they play in creating a sustainable future.
NET-ZERO EXPERIENCE:
• MEP Engineer for the first Net-Zero Pending school building in the Midwest
• Design Architect for the first Net-Zero K-12 school building in the state of Arizona
• Published article on design Net-Zero buildings on a budget for the American Institute of Architects national website
Cincinnati, OH
The new Bethany School campus uses Zero Energy, biophilia and natural play design strategies to give students a personalized and healthy learning environment. The design replaces multiple buildings on the Bethany school campus with new projectbased learning environments. Natural light, natural materials and biophilic constructs and images create a healthier education center. The site design also encourages healthy learning with one of the largest playscape playgrounds in the Midwest.
Zero Energy design strategies are at the core of the client’s approach to sustainability. The campus is designed to consume 15 kBtus/sf/year. This is 25 percent less energy per square foot than the average vacant building. Solar panels create a carbonneutral facility. Other accomplishments include:
• Stormwater - Rain gardens, bioswales and underground, slow release systems combine to beat code by 20 percent.
• LEED Platinum Certification - The buildings are projected to achieve LEED Platinum certification - one of the few K-12 campuses to achieve this goal in the Midwest.
• School as a Teaching Tool - The school uses design strategies to help influence curriculum and pedagogy, which will help educate a new generation of environmental stewards.
CLIENT
Bethany School
SCOPE
58,000 New SF
COST
$12.0 M
CONTACT
David Gould
Head of School
513.771.7462
PARTNER FIRM
Emersion Design
• Designed for Zero Energy Use
• Projected energy use of 15 kBtu/sf, less than the average empty warehouse
• Targeting LEED
Platinum certification
• Biophilic design themes to support project-based learning
The building is oriented to minimize heat gain throughout the day.
Roof-mounted solar panels allow the building to achieve Zero Energy goals.
Daylighting strategies create a welcoming and healthy environment for students.
Early energy modeling analysis allowed for the use of glass in appropriately-oriented spaces.
An extensive natural playscape connects students with the environment.
Fort Huachuca, AZ
The new Colonel Smith Middle School is the first Net-Zero school in the state of Arizona.
Innovative daylighting strategies and super-efficient building systems—combined with the installation of a solar panel array— allow the 88,693-square-foot facility to produce as much energy as it consumes.
The building’s Net Zero strategies combine with a progressive STEM curriculum to help students learn in a project-based environment. One to one technology allows learning to happen anywhere, and wind turbines, words imprinted on the sidewalks, outdoor classrooms, landscaping and sustainable design elements turn the entire campus into a classroom.
Associate firm: Emc2 Architects
ABOVE | Wind turbines serve as demonstration elements, allowing students to learn about renewable energy.
CLIENT
Fort Huachuca
Accommodation School
District
SCOPE
88,693 New SF
COST
$20.0 M
RELEVANT INFORMATION
• Arizona’s first Net-Zero K-12 school
• Sustainable strategies support the school’s STEM curriculum and focus on project-based learning
Highlights of the project’s Net-Zero design strategies include:
• Electrical distribution with discrete metering of lighting, HVAC and plug loads
• High-efficiency LED and electric lighting systems with state-ofthe-art digital lighting controls
• Super-efficient light sources such as T5 fluorescent lamps and LED lighting systems using continuously dimmable drivers.
• Mechanical systems including packaged rooftop, variable air volume (VAV) air handlers in each building pod
• Hot water heating supplied by 95% efficient natural gas boilers
• Solar panels providing domestic water heating for the locker rooms and kitchen
• Wind turbines, which are used as demonstration elements and produce one to three percent of the building’s total energy
• Rainwater harvesting from roof tops and from the artificialsurface athletic field, supported by a pair of 25,000-gallon water harvesting tanks
As part of the school’s sustainable curriculum, students monitor the building’s real time energy usage and production from an energy dashboard located in the Student Union. The dashboard displays energy use throughout the building, energy produced by solar and wind components, and water harvesting collection and usage. Students are also able to monitor dashboard information individually from an app on their mobile devices. The information found on the dashboard is a major source of student projects.
Natural daylighting strategies allow classrooms to operate without artificial light on most days.
A research commons provides a central location for STEM activities.
Fort Huachuca Accommodation Schools
Fort Huachuca, AZ
“It is beyond my ability to find the words to tell you how it makes me feel when I walk through the school and see what you and the team did with my hope and vision.”
– DR. RONDA FRUEAUFF, SUPERINTENDENT
Extended learning areas support flexibility throughout the school day.
Art classrooms have three types of natural lighting: glazing, skylights and borrowed light.
Interior design strategies allow the building to serve as a teaching tool for STEM education.
As part of an overall energy management project at Byron High School, Fanning Howey designed and oversaw the installation of a 50 kW photovoltaic array, including 160 solar panels on the gymnasium roof. Combined with boiler additions and temperature control, the project was projected to have a 10-year payback.
CLIENT Byron CUSD 226
COST
$1.7 M
COMPLETION DATE 2017
BETHANY SCHOOL
Cincinnati, OH
The new Bethany School is designed to use 15 kBtu/SF/year, which is 25 percent less energy usage than the average vacant building. The design team collaborated with the client to target a Net Zero energy goal, which means the building produces more energy than it consumes. To get to Net Zero, the design includes extensive use of solar panels to create a carbon neutral facility.
CLIENT Bethany School
SCOPE
Part of 58,000 New SF project
COST
$12.0 M
COMPLETION DATE 2019
COLONEL SMITH MIDDLE SCHOOL
Fort Huachuca, AZ
As the first Net-Zero K-12 school in Arizona, Colonel Smith Middle School uses an extensive solar field to provide renewable energy. At the time of construction, the new military solar installation was billed as the largest undertaken by the Department of Defense.
CLIENT
Fort Huachuca Accommodation School District
SCOPE 88,693 New SF
COST
$20.0 M
COMPLETION DATE 2012
Deerfield, IL
Renovations to the middle school’s STEM labs include the addition of solar panels to help students learn about renewable energy. The science wing also includes a weather station, bird boxes with embedded video cameras, and garden beds to allow students to explore nature in a suburban setting.
CLIENT
West Point Military Academy, NY
The new West Point Elementary School is designed for a progressive STEM curriculum. As part of the design’s buildingas-a-teaching-tool strategy, the project includes solar panels connected to energy dashboards.
CLIENT Department of Defense Education Activity SCOPE 95,607
Detroit, MI
For years, Henry Ford High School had a career-technical program that befit its name - focused 20th century technologies. Renovations reimagined educational opportunities for the 21st century, including a STEM courtyard with solar panels, wind turbines and a green roof.
CLIENT Detroit Public Schools
SCOPE
Understanding all available c ost saving strate gies is a big par t of making net-zero ready buildings af fordable If you are lo oking at solar panels for renewable energy, for example, find a c ontractor who will help establish your dollars p er wat t, which b e c omes a go o d rubric for energy ef ficiency strate gies
When you can, implement an energy ef ficiency strate gy for b elow the renewable dollars p er wat t
B e aware of p otential funding sourc es for high p er forming buildings. D ep ending on the marketplac e and the typ e of client, there may b e funding in the form of tax breaks, grants or rebates. Make sure to include these additional funding sourc es in your analysis of first c osts and long-term op erating c osts.
By Chad Edwards and Terr y Liet te
C onstant evaluation is a critical par t of the net-zero approach. As par t of the B ethany Scho ol proje ct, the team c ontinually teste d the design’s energy ef ficiency using energy mo deling The initial mo deling provide d a framework for broad c onc epts and mo deling during the design development and c onstruction do cumentation phases allowe d the team to stay on target and make sure that we were achieving our goals The team will also b e working with B ethany Scho ol to evaluate to the building's p er formanc e af ter c onstruction with the goal of achieving true net-zero energy usage, not just a target in a mo del
Even if you don’t have a sustainable-minde d client like B ethany Scho ol, you can still improve the overall energy ef ficiency of your designs. Star ting down the path of designing for net-zero ready buildings will help se cure the future of your practic e and the planet.
Keep energy use top of mind in your projects Learn more on The COTE® Top Ten Toolkit’s Design for Energy page
A different version of this article originally appeared in the March 2019 issue of the AIA Project Management Knowledge Community’s PM Digest
Chad Edwards is a principal architect with emersion DESIGN, an architecture firm located in Cincinnati, Ohio specializing in cost-effective, healthy, high performing buildings. Terry Liette is chief engineering officer for Fanning Howey, a national integrated architecture and engineering practice specializing in learning environments.
An archite ct and engine er present a case study and give advic e on how to b e sustainable and c ost-ef fe ctive at the same time.
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We use cookies and other tracking technologies for performance, analytics, marketing, and more customized site experiences. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our terms. Learn more about these in our Privacy Policy. AIA reserves the right to delete content and suspend user accounts that it determines to be inappropriate.
The term “net-zero” of ten brings to mind big budgets and exp ensive building systems, but this c onc eption c ouldn't b e fur ther from the truth. As archite cts and engine ers, we have ever y thing we ne e d to design net-zero ready buildings for the same c ost as buildings that me et basic c o de All it takes is the right mindset and the right approach.
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3/6/2021
Understanding all available c ost saving strate gies is a big par t of making net-zero ready buildings af fordable If you are lo oking at solar panels for renewable energy, for example, find a c ontractor who will help establish your dollars p er wat t, which b e c omes a go o d rubric for energy ef ficiency strate gies
When you can, implement an energy ef ficiency strate gy for b elow the renewable dollars p er wat t
How to design net-zero ready buildings on a budget - AIA
Here’s what our team archite cts from emersion DESIGN and engine ers from Fanning Howey learne d while c ollab orating on a net-zero ready campus addition for B ethany Scho ol in Cincinnati, Ohio:
B e aware of p otential funding sourc es for high p er forming buildings. D ep ending on the marketplac e and the typ e of client, there may b e funding in the form of tax breaks, grants or rebates. Make sure to include these additional funding sourc es in your analysis of first c osts and long-term op erating c osts.
Make sure the owner is all in
Test , retest , and c ontinuously improve
Like all goals, creating a net-zero ready building will not happ en without buy in from all par ties, esp e cially the owner D esigners should e ducate owners ab out the af fordability and practicality of netzero strate gies However, if net-zero isn’t c entral to a client's mission and goals for the proje ct, then net-zero strate gies are unlikely to b e embrac e d and actualize d B ethany Scho ol’s strong existing c ommitment to sustainability made it p ossible for us to deliver a net-zero ready design at $225 p er square fo ot.
C onstant evaluation is a critical par t of the net-zero approach. As par t of the B ethany Scho ol proje ct, the team c ontinually teste d the design’s energy ef ficiency using energy mo deling The initial mo deling provide d a framework for broad c onc epts and mo deling during the design development and c onstruction do cumentation phases allowe d the team to stay on target and make sure that we were achieving our goals The team will also b e working with B ethany Scho ol to evaluate to the building's p er formanc e af ter c onstruction with the goal of achieving true net-zero energy usage, not just a target in a mo del
Even if you don’t have a sustainable-minde d client like B ethany Scho ol, you can still improve the overall energy ef ficiency of your designs. Star ting down the path of designing for net-zero ready buildings will help se cure the future of your practic e and the planet.
To develop a net-zero ready design you ne e d a team with a c ollab orative mindset. Archite cts and engine ers ne e d to b e c omfor table sharing ideas and working outside of their given disciplines. This is imp or tant b e cause net-zero ready buildings re quire extreme creativity and laser-fo cuse d at tention to the sp e cifics of each building and site.
Keep energy use top of mind in your projects Learn more on The COTE® Top Ten Toolkit’s Design for Energy page
A different version of this article originally appeared in the March 2019 issue of the AIA Project Management Knowledge Community’s PM Digest
From the ver y b e ginning, ever y B ethany Scho ol proje ct team memb er was in the ro om giving input B efore there was even a flo or plan, the team explore d seven dif ferent window-to-wall ratio profiles and multiple c onstruction profiles, including glazing and solar c o ef ficients, evaluating along with way with energy mo deling data Working c ollab oratively and drawing on the strengths of all involve d is the only way to create a c ost-ef fe ctive, net-zero ready building
Chad Edwards is a principal architect with emersion DESIGN, an architecture firm located in Cincinnati, Ohio specializing in cost-effective, healthy, high performing buildings. Terry Liette is chief engineering officer for Fanning Howey, a national integrated architecture and engineering practice specializing in learning environments.
Net-zero ready buildings re quire p er fe ctly-size d systems to b e c ost-ef fe ctive, and they can’t b e prop erly designe d by following traditional rules of thumb. During early c onc eptual design ef for ts, the entire team ne e ds to explore building-and site-sp e cific solutions using energy mo deling to ols. For example, c onventional wisdom says that a high p er forming building should have more glazing on the south than the nor th. But during the energy mo deling pro c ess for B ethany Scho ol, our team found the opp osite to b e true. For this building, on this site, more glazing on the nor th meant fewer glare issues while less glazing on the south meant less heat gain and the ability to eliminate solar shades.
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With its site-sp e cific design strate gies, the B ethany Scho ol addition is proje cte d to b e 18 7 p erc ent more energy ef ficient than the average lo cal vacant building Right now, the proje ct's Energy Use Intensity is tracking at 17 kBtu p er square fo ot, which will make B ethany Scho ol one of the most energy-ef ficient scho ols in the nation
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ct c osts and oppor tunities
https://www.aia.org/articles/6211520-how-to-design-net-zero-ready-buildings-on-
Understanding all available c ost saving strate gies is a big par t of making net-zero ready buildings af fordable If you are lo oking at solar panels for renewable energy, for example, find a c ontractor who will help establish your dollars p er wat t, which b e c omes a go o d rubric for energy ef ficiency strate gies When you can, implement an energy ef ficiency strate gy for b elow the renewable dollars p er wat t
B e aware of p otential funding sourc es for high p er forming buildings. D ep ending on the marketplac e and the typ e of client, there may b e funding in the form of tax breaks, grants or rebates. Make sure to include these additional funding sourc es in your analysis of first c osts and long-term op erating c osts.
C onstant evaluation is a critical par t of the net-zero approach As par t of the B ethany Scho ol proje ct, the team c ontinually teste d the design’s energy ef ficiency using energy mo deling. The initial mo deling provide d a framework for broad c onc epts and mo deling during the design development and c onstruction do cumentation phases allowe d the team to stay on target and make sure that we were achieving our goals. The team will also b e working with B ethany Scho ol to evaluate to the building's p er formanc e af ter c onstruction with the goal of achieving true net-zero energy usage, not just a target in a mo del.
Even if you don’t have a sustainable-minde d client like B ethany Scho ol, you can still improve the overall energy ef ficiency of your designs Star ting down the path of designing for net-zero ready buildings will help se cure the future of your practic e and the planet
C onstant evaluation is a critical par t of the net-zero approach. As par t of the B ethany Scho ol proje ct, the team c ontinually teste d the design’s energy ef ficiency using energy mo deling. The initial mo deling provide d a framework for broad c onc epts and mo deling during the design development and c onstruction do cumentation phases allowe d the team to stay on target and make sure that we were achieving our goals. The team will also b e working with B ethany Scho ol to evaluate to the building's p er formanc e af ter c onstruction with the goal of achieving true net-zero energy usage, not just a target in a mo del
Keep energy use top of mind in your projects Learn more on The COTE® Top Ten Toolkit’s Design for Energy page
A different version of this article originally appeared in the March 2019 issue of the AIA Project Management Knowledge Community’s PM Digest.
Even if you don’t have a sustainable-minde d client like B ethany Scho ol, you can still improve the overall energy ef ficiency of your designs. Star ting down the path of designing for net-zero ready buildings will help se cure the future of your practic e and the planet.
Chad Edwards is a principal architect with emersion DESIGN, an architecture firm located in Cincinnati, Ohio specializing in cost-effective, healthy, high performing buildings Terry Liette is chief engineering officer for Fanning Howey, a national integrated architecture and engineering practice specializing in learning environments
Keep energy use top of mind in your projects Learn more on The COTE® Top Ten Toolkit’s Design for Energy page
A different version of this article originally appeared in the March 2019 issue of the AIA Project Management Knowledge Community’s PM Digest
We use cookies and other tracking technologies for performance, analytics, marketing, and more customized site experiences. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our terms. Learn more about these in our Privacy Policy. AIA reserves the right to delete content and suspend user accounts that it determines to be inappropriate.
Chad Edwards is a principal architect with emersion DESIGN, an architecture firm located in Cincinnati, Ohio specializing in cost-effective, healthy, high performing buildings. Terry Liette is chief engineering officer for Fanning Howey, a national integrated architecture and engineering practice specializing in learning environments.
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https://www.aia.org/articles/6211520-how-to-design-net-zero-ready-buildings-on-
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https://www.aia.org/articles/6211520-how-to-design-net-zero-ready-buildings-on-
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Fanning Howey is an integrated architecture, interiors and engineering firm specializing in learning environments. We use the power of design to create smarter, happier learners, more successful educators and stronger communities. From our offices in Indiana and Ohio, we have designed K-12 and Higher Education learning environments throughout the midwest and across the country. Our team is devoted to finding ways to conceive and build inspirational places for teaching and learning.
WE ARE LEADERS IN:
• Architecture
• MEP Engineering
• Interior Design
• Landscape Architecture
• Technology Design
• Construction Administration
• Master Planning
• Educational Visioning
• Bond Issue/Referendum Assistance
950K+ students attend Fanning Howeydesigned schools each day
2,850+ K-12 school designs in 37 states since 1961
100+ professionals focused on improving learning environments
62+ years of expertise creating impactful spaces
82 LEED certified schools
#4 globally in LEED certification design for K-12 schools