Engineering Inc. - November/December 2008 - (Page 26)

Elementary School Saves With New Cooling System PRojECt: mULtI-PRojECt FEAtURE bethke Elementary School, timnath, Colo. FIRm: Shaffer baucom Engineering & Consulting, Lakewood, Colo. B ethke Elementary School in Timnath, Colo., part of the Poudre School District (PSD) in suburban Ft. Collins, uses 40 percent to 50 percent less energy than its older counterparts. Additionally, because PSD uses a prototype design for its new elementary school projects, officials say the buildings cost 10 percent less to construct compared with other schools in the Colorado Front Range region. PSD hired Lakewood-based Shaffer Baucom Engineering & Consulting (SBEC) to design the mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection systems for the 63,000-square-foot, $9.6 million school, which includes classrooms, computer labs, offices and special program rooms. SBEC’s design placed an emphasis on sustainability, system performance and the use of daylight harvesting. “The project is on target to be the first school in the country to earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Schools Gold certification,” says Barry Stamp, SBEC principal. SBEC included an indirect evaporative-cooled chilled water system for environmental control, an exhaust air heat recovery system, a LONWorks building automation communications infrastructure that enables remote monitoring and control of building systems, security and access control systems and a daylight harvesting lighting control system. “Prior versions of the building prototype had air-cooled chillers and ice storage tanks. The chiller is run at night and during the day melting ice cools the building,” explains Stamp. In designing Bethke, SBEC replaced the chiller with the indirect evaporative chilled water system. The firm added an exhaust air heat recovery system to preheat incoming ventilation air, reduce the heating load and improve efficiency. “Cooling the school efficiently without a chiller was a major mechanical system challenge,” says Stamp. The semiarid conditions of the area made evaporative cooling the superior option. “During the school year, there is very low humidity, which is the most effective environment for evaporative cooling and an efficient way to cool a building,” Stamp added. “In addition, the exhaust air heat recovery system provides a measure of precooled air being circulated in the building, enabling the school district to better meet its environmental, sustainable and LEED certification goals.” Barry Stamp A green design spearheaded by Lakewood, Colo.–based Shaffer Baucom Engineering & Consulting enables the new Bethke Elementary School in Timnath to use 40 percent to 50 percent less energy than its older district counterparts. 26 ENGINEERING INC. NovEmbER / dECEmbER 2008

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Engineering Inc. - September/October 2008 Contents From ACEC to You News & Notes Market Watch Legislative Action Engineering Goes Back to School Winning the Talent War Mastering A Hard-Luck Economy Education Makes the Grade in Green Construction 2008 Young Professionals of the Year 2008 Fall Conference Highlights Technology Members in the News One On One

Engineering Inc. - November/December 2008

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