We are reposting this news item with a link to the cover article From Church to School from the Winter 2017 issue of ASHRAE’s High Performance Building magazine.
Ecotope’s collaboration with SKL Architects has resulted in an impressive adaptive reuse of a West Seattle Church. The Westside Elementary School targeted an energy use intensity (EUI) of 19, using the Seattle energy code c407 energy modeling approach. The average EUI for Seattle K-12 schools is 43.5. With nine months of operation in its first complete school year, the building has achieved an EUI of 13.7! Westside school incorporates a dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS) with energy recovery ventilation. The space conditioning is provided by variable refrigerant flow heat pumps with ductless heat pump units for zonal conditioning. The school also features a lighting power density of 0.3 W/sf using all LED fixtures. Ceiling fans and operable windows help occupants adjust the building’s environment to their liking. The report from the building operator is that this is the best system he has used in his thirty years at Seattle Schools. The report from the staff and students is that they love their new school!