A Study in Green Science

Consulting-Specifying Engineer
2/1/2010 12:00:00 AM

St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., is one of the few educational institutions to receive a U.S. Green Building Council LEED Platinum rating for one of its buildings. The college's Regents Hall of Natural and Mathematical Sciences opened in September 2008 and is expected to reduce energy costs by 50% compared to the Minnesota Energy Code, which is based on ASHRAE 90.1-2004.

Science centers are not by design energy-efficient, due mostly to their high air-exchange requirements. The Regents Hall features an HVAC system designed with an extended-size 53,000 cfm Vision air handling system from McQuay. The system is designed not only for high air exchange, but also for low energy consumption, which helped the college earn LEED points and meet budget requirements.

The $64 million building is a model for interdisciplinary science education. New lessons on green living and sustainability include how the green roof impacts a waterfall collection system to reduce the cooling load. Regents Hall is also the first major science facility in the country designed for “green chemistry,” which minimizes the hazardous chemical waste from lab experiments. The labs use one half the number of fume hoods compared to the same curriculum with conventional chemistry.
View the full story:A study in green science

Living Off the Grid, Off the Well, & Off the Furnace

Christian Milaster has built a house that operates on just $100 a year and is off-the-grid, , off-the-well, and off-the-furnace, yet has all the comfortable amenenities most people wouldn't want to give up. Milaster calls the buildingand design of his clean energy home "Project Licht 'n Stein" (German for "light and stone")" He shared the details of Project Licht'n Stein at a Southeast CERTs meeting last spring.

Watch videotaped excerpts of Christian Milaster's presentation to SE CERTs:
Project Licht 'n Stein - Introduction

Project Licht 'n Stein - Off-the-Grid

Project Licht 'n Stein - Off-the-Well

Project Licht 'n Stein - Off-the-Furnace


Links:
Project Licht'n Stein
BeCause Group Consulting

Energy Seminars at Rochester Market Square

Rochester Market Square is a group of independent established businesses that have come together to bring the building, home remodeling, and interior design customer the convenience of one stop shopping with a rich visual experience, sponsoring a series of seminars:

Power is Everything
Kohler Backup Generators & Dupont Kevlar Storm Rooms
Space Limited Please RSVP to 507-285-5453
Attend the Seminar and Receive Additional 10 % Off a System Saturday, June 20, 10am
MN GreenStar 101

Your Tool Kit for Green Home Building & Remodeling
Space limited Please RSVP to 507-289-3622 Thursday, June 25, 6pm

Wind Energy Systems for Home, Farm or Business
Space Limited Please RSVP to 507-424-3884
Attend the Seminar and Receive Additional 10% Off a System Friday, June 26, 6pm

First LEED-Certified Building in Rochester

The year-old Nietz Electric building at 4475 U.S. 14 West became the first green building in Rochester to achieve LEED certification. (A few others are registered, but none are officially certified yet.) More than 30% of the materials used in construction are recycled-content and more than 30% were local materials from within a 30-mile radius of the site. Although it looks like a typical office building, the energy-efficient structure incorporates natural lighting and will use about 18% less energy than a standard office building, states Mike Benike of A.E. Benike, Inc.. the general contractor for the project. The owner also purchases renewable energy, wind power, from RPU.
Read the story in the Rochester Post-Bulletin:http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=7&a=398875

FSWCD Energy Fair

Energy Fair
Saturday, February 28, 2009 starting at NOON
Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center
28097 Goodview Drive, Lanesboro, MN 55949

Fillmore Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD)

With financial support from Hiawatha Valley Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) and the Driftless Area Initiative

Afternoon Informational Sessions are FREE.
Cost for the meal is $10/person. Contact the SWCD (507-765-3878, ext. 3) by Feb. 20th to sign up for the meal.

FARM TRACK:

FarmsteadEnergy Efficiency and Conservation
Brad Pecinovsky , Tri-County
Electric

Transportation Fuels:Past, Present, and Future
Doug Root,
Ph.D., Ag Utilization Research Institute (AURI)

Pork and Plants Biomass Pelletizer
Tim Terrill, Winona SWCD

Productive Conservation on Working Lands and Other Financial Incentives
Joe Domeier, Three Rivers Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D)

Small Scale Solar and Wind
Rich Huelskamp, Sun’s Warmth, Red Wing

HOME TRACK:

Small Scale Solar and Wind
Rich Huelskamp, Sun’s Warmth, Red Wing

Windbreaks
Rick Grooters, Fillmore SWCD

Rain Barrels
Jane Bailey, Zumbro Watershed Partnership

Green Building: Monolithic Dome Structures
Jerry Cleveland, Spring Valley

Green Building: Project Licht 'n Stein Energy Efficient Home
Christian Milaster, Be!cause Consulting, Inc., Lanesboro

Financial Incentives for Energy Conservation and Renewables
Phil Smith, Energy Specialist, Minnesota Office of Energy Security, MN Dept of Commerce

Home Energy Efficiency and Conservation
Ted Kjos, Tri-County Electric Co-op

Highlights:
Eagle Bluff renewable energy initiatives: Joe Deden, Director – Auditorium
Keynote speaker: Sarah Nettleton “Carbon Neutral: How can we all be a part of the solution?” -- Auditorium
Meal of local foods, SWCD conservation awards, Q&A for Sarah – Eagle Bluff Dining Hall