Sustainable design elements like geothermal energy and an all electric-building qualified the Nashoba Regional School High School Building Project for additional reimbursement funds from the MSBA, saving taxpayers millions of dollars on the cost of the project, as well as operating costs over the lifetime of the building.
The Nashoba Regional High School site is unique to other school sites around the Commonwealth as it does not have the typical utility services to it such as gas and water. As a result, the project needed to employ the green design features such as a Net Zero Ready Building and Net Zero Water in order for it to function properly.
The use of geothermal wells to heat and cool the building qualifies the project for additional energy incentives. It also provided the opportunity for the project to get an additional 4% reimbursement from the MSBA on the project. Nashoba Regional High School is one of the first schools in the Commonwealth to qualify for this additional reimbursement.
After the decision to be an all-electric building and during the feasibility study phase of the project the District and School Building Committee explored the both air-source and ground-source heat pumps (geothermal). While geothermal heat pumps have a significant upfront cost they are also more cost effective to maintain and utilize less energy. To make educated decisions a Life Cycle Cost Analysis was performed. The analysis included the initial cost, potential energy rebates and tax incentives, additional MSBA reimbursement, and overall operating costs (energy and maintenance). The analysis indicated that estimated payback period for the geothermal wells was almost immediate as compared to a baseline building code minimum system. It is estimated that this system will save the District over 30 million dollars over the life of the building.
The Nashoba Regional School High School Building project is "Net Zero Energy Ready ".
Being Net Zero Energy Ready means that a project is being designed to support if a renewable energy system were to be installed in the future that the building could become a Net Zero Energy Building. To do this, the school is being designed as an all-electric building utilizing geothermal wells for both heating and cooling. We are also designing the building to be “solar ready.” This means the roof structure is being designed to support solar panels installed on it and the mechanical units are being located to maximize the potential for solar panels and energy production on the roof. In addition, parking areas will be organized and have the infrastructure for future PV panel canopies to be installed. Based on energy modelling, we have provided the infrastructure for the building to perform as a Net Zero Building in the future.
The green design features of the building are actually not impacting the cost of construction for this project specifically. Yes, typically green design can cost more money, but the features that are included as part of the building are systems that are necessary for the building to operate.
Why do we say it like that it? The answer is the Nashoba Regional High School site is unique to other school sites around the Commonwealth as it does not have the typical utility services to it such as gas and water. As a result, the project needed to employ the green design features such as a Net Zero Ready Building and Net Zero Water in order for it to function properly.
The use of geothermal wells to heat and cool the building qualifies the project for additional energy incentives. It also provided the opportunity for the project to get an additional 4% reimbursement from the MSBA on the project. Nashoba Regional High School is one of the first schools in the Commonwealth to qualify for this additional reimbursement.
The Nashoba Regional School High School Building project is a "Net Zero Water Building" .
The building will be a Net Zero Water Building. A Net Zero Water Building is a building the returns all the water being utilized to the source. To do this the project has utilized the following strategies:
o Minimizing the overall water consumption of the building.
o Collecting all rainwater on the site and the building’s roof and infiltrating all the water into the site.
o All the water utilized for the building is harvested from the site through the use of water wells and returned to the site as treated wastewater.
The green design features of the building are actually not impacting the cost of construction for this project specifically. Yes, typically green design can cost more money, but the features that are included as part of the building are systems that are necessary for the building to operate.
Why do we say it like that it? The answer is the Nashoba Regional High School site is unique to other school sites around the Commonwealth as it does not have the typical utility services to it such as gas and water. As a result, the project needed to employ the green design features such as a Net Zero Ready Building and Net Zero Water in order for it to function properly.
The Nashoba Regional School High School Building project is "LEED Silver" .
We are utilizing LEED as our benchmarking sustainability program. Our current draft scorecard has us achieving a minimum of LEED Silver with a possibility to achieve LEED Gold.
We are achieving this through various sustainable desire measures/strategies such as:
o Reducing Light Pollution with our exterior lighting being selected.
o Reducing the Heat Island Effect through reflective roofing materials and shading of parking areas.
o Reducing the rainwater run-off and improving the water quality on the site.
o Reducing potable water use both indoors and outdoors. This is done through low-flow plumbing fixtures on the interior and using native plantings throughout the site that do not require irrigation.
o Utilizing low-emitting or no VOC materials.
o Designing a highly efficient, low energy use building. This is done by finding a cost-effective balance between the insulation and “air-tightness” of the exterior envelope with the energy efficient hvac
system and lighting systems.
We are utilizing Geothermal Wells for heating and cooling the building.
We are utilizing a geothermal well field that will exist under the current tennis courts to the west of the site. The geothermal wells are using the constant temperature of the groundwater within the earth within to heat and cool the building throughout the year. The geothermal wells are also used to produce the hot water for the building.
Solar panels are not included in the scope of this project.
The project does not currently include solar energy production for electricity at this point. As previously mentioned, the project is being designed to allow for solar photovoltaic panels to be installed at a later date. This could be done through an on-site Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). In this scenario, the District would not own the PV panels but would agree to purchase the power
generated by the panels at a fixed cost. This is a zero-cost option for the District and would require a third-party agreement. The project has been in discussions with PPA vendors and soliciting their input to maximize the potential for a PPA to occur in the future.
The other option would be for the District to buy and install the solar panels independently. Given the size of the building this would require a substantial up-front cost to install the amount of solar panels required to support the building. As part of this option the District would be required to also maintain
the solar panels throughout their lifetime. In the feasibility phase of the project the District and School Building Committee made the decision that a PPA was in the best interest of the
project. This decision kept the overall project cost lower (and the burden on
the taxpayer).