Page 102 - Zero Net Energy Case Study Buildings-Volume 1

CASE STUDY NO. 5 SCIENCE & ENGINEERING BUILDING I
Science & Engineering Building I
Case Study No. 5
Data Summary
Building Type: Laboratory Location: Merced, CA
Gross Floor Area: 180,339 gsf Occupied: January 2006
Energy Modeling Software
Trace 600
Modeled EUI (Site)
119 kBtu/gsf-year
Measured EUI (Site) - 2009
207 kBtu/gsf-year
Measured EUI (Site) - 2011
188 kBtu/gsf-year
The Science & Engineering Building I laboratory building houses both dry and wet teaching and research laboratories with related support spaces and faculty/staff spaces for the School of Natural Sciences and the School of Engineering. This building was designed simultaneously with the new Library building and the Classroom & Office Building, with direct interaction and coordi- nation among the three A/E teams. The Classroom & Office Building is the subject of the second case study at the UC Merced campus and designated Case Study No. 6.
Low-Energy Design Approach for Engineering & Science Building I
Setting a design energy budget at 80% of the UC/CSU benchmark for laboratory buildings re- quired an integrated design approach by the A/E design team to ensure that this target could be achieved. The UC Merced energy budget for this type of building in 2003 was:
• EUI = 257 kBtu/gsf-year
• Peak Power Demand = 5.38 watts/gsf
• Peak Chilled Water Demand from the Central Plant = 2.99 tons (35.9 kBtu/hr) per 1,000
gsf
• Peak Hot Water Demand from the Central Plant = 34 kBtu/hr per 1,000 gsf
As operated, the building is performing better than its benchmark target by a wide margin–EUI = 188 versus the benchmark target of 257. Modeling results, however, indicate that much greater reductions may be possible. (See data summary at left.) This is the one case study of the six in this monograph where such a wide difference between modeled energy use and measured energy use was observed. This issue is discussed in this case study on p. 92.
In order to ensure that the low EUI budget could be realized, the general building planning and the design of each of the building component systems, the building envelope, interior lighting, HVAC (heating, cooling and ventilation) and electrical plug load, were all considered together in an integrated manner from the first phase of the design. Energy efficiency informed every design decision.
Building Planning and Building Envelope
Following the general design guidelines established for all campus buildings1, the Engineering & Science Building I utilizes separate entrances to each of the major spaces on the ground level rather than a single building entrance and a system of internal corridors. This reduces the amount of internal conditioned space and activates the exterior arcade spaces with student and faculty circulation. Consistent with this approach, the most heavily used program spaces, the teaching laboratories, are located on the ground floor, while the research laboratories and offices are located on the upper levels.
Another common feature is the location of light-filtering pedestrian arcades on the southerly facades of the building, which face common outdoor plazas or quads. These arcades provide shading of the walls that receive the brunt of the sun’s heat impact while also creating outdoor social spaces. The arcade design on each building uses a system of brise soleil (horizontal sun shades) to admit daylight while shading the exterior walls.
In the case of The Engineering & Science Building I, the sunshades are made from a ceramic- fritted glass that blocks much of the direct sunlight while transmitting some daylight. A design-day
1 UC Merced Physical Design Framework, Physical Planning, Design and Construction (2010) pp. 79-80.
Zero Net Energy Case Study Buildings: Volume 1
Owner/Client
University of California, Merced
Design Team
Design Architect: EHDD Archi- tecture, San Francisco CA
Architect-of-Record: Leo A. Daly, San Francisco CA
Structural Engineer: Rutherford & Chekene, San Francisco CA
Mechanical, Electrical & Plumb- ing Engineers: Arup, Los Ange- les CA
Lab Planning: GPR Planners Collaborative
Lighting Designer: JS Nolan & Associates, San Francisco CA
Landscape Architect: Peter Walker & Partners, Berkeley CA
General Contractor
Flintco, Inc. 86