This 2,200 sf facility was commissioned in 1996 by Sonoma State University's
Environmental Studies and Planning Department to demonstrate various environmental
technologies as part of the department's teaching programs. The building
comprises a large seminar room flanked
to the south by two offices, and to the north by a small lab, restrooms, and
mechanical room. These spaces work in concert to promote a sustainable architecture
of energy
efficiency derived from passive solar heating, natural cooling, and daylighting.
The project received funding from the National Science Foundation and the California
Energy Commission to further advanced environmental design and technology performance
objectives.
Loisos+Ubbelohde provided daylighting consulting services to the design team,
predicting qualitative and quantitative
performance
of various design alternatives, associated electric lighting use and energy
savings. Each design alternative had to integrate well with stack ventilation
cooling and winter solar gain collection. Daylighting studies focused on the
lecture room, which does not have direct access to north or south light, and
has windows only on the east side, shaded by seasonally deciduous vines. After
modeling and analyzing illuminance and daylighting factors for different aperture
conditions and roof monitor and skylight configurations, we recommended a south-facing
roof monitor together with a series of skylights on the north roof slope. The
monitor overhang allows direct beam penetration in winter and provides shade
in summer; mechanical venetian blinds shade the monitor as necessary, while
the skylights are shaded by electrically controlled louvers to reduce solar
gain. Operable panels on the north side of the monitor enable stack ventilation.
Easily accessible controls allow users to adjust interior light levels and
sun penetration; fully opened, there is sufficient light for reading and note-taking,
while closed positions allow the room to be dimmed for slide lectures. We also
recommended dimming lighting controls as an energy saving measure.
Although no formal post-occupancy evaluation has been conducted, after
one year of operation, the rooftop photovoltaic panels, which generate up to
3 kilowatts of electricity, have produced far more energy than is used by the
building's electric lighting, computers, controls, fans
or water
pumps. Excess energy is fed back into the power grid. The building
uses no mechanical means for cooling, yet maintains an indoor temperature of
70°F
during heat storms when outdoor temperatures exceed 105°F. Users have reported
comfortable interior conditions in cold as well as hot weather and a high degree
of satisfaction with the quality and controllability
of the natural lighting.
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