Monument Valley Middle School established Berkshire Hills Regional School District (Berkshire Hills) as a K-12 leader in sustainable design. During the planning process, the district committed to participate in the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative Renewable Energy/Green School Program and use Massachusetts Collaborative for High-Performance Schools (MCHPS) Best Practice criteria to evaluate, prioritize, and select effective and cost-controlling green features.

The District set guiding principles that framed the project’s design, and laid the groundwork for how the facility would impact education and the community:

• Increase protection of the environment during and after construction through the use of green materials and reduction of energy consumption;
• Create a stimulating and healthy facility to support more productive teaching and learning;
• Reduce the District’s operating costs.

Berkshire Hills was supported financially for their environmental commitment, receiving a $500,000 construction grant from the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. The community also approved a $300,000 project budget increase to implement additional energy-saving technologies and green features into their new building.

green choices

Optimal north/south building orientation and energy efficient, operable windows maximize daylighting, and provide temperature control and natural ventilation.

Monument Valley Middle School includes many green materials and renewable energy systems. Kingscott Associates evaluated all MCHPS options and then developed costs and payback values for each. Next the entire team — Kingscott, the community, and Berkshire Hills district staff — prioritized the options. The final design incorporated the right options for the district, and the building was designed to meet projected energy savings as well as create a stimulating, healthy learning environment.

energy-conserving systems

Energy conservation was a primary goal for this project. The design included mechanical, electrical, and building component solutions:

• Geothermal system for heating and cooling: Three supply wells (each rated at 150 GPM flow rate) and two water insertion wells (rated 225 GPM), all ranging from 100 feet to 150 feet in depth, supply a constant 50-degree (F) water to the water-loop heat pump system. Sixty-three heat pump units located throughout the school provide a total of 180.5 tons of cooling. Using the natural heating/cooling properties of the earth reduces fossil fuel and electrical energy consumption. It also eliminates the need for chillers and reduces construction costs.
• Heat recovery units: Reduce the energy consumption of the ventilation system. High-efficiency boilers provide supplemental heat.
• Insulation at 2.5 times code requirements: Reduces heating and cooling loss and stabilizes interior temperatures.
• Photovoltaic solar panels with net-metering: High-efficiency modules (silicon nitride multicrystalline silicon cells) on the roof produce electricity, which supplements the supply from the local utility. With net-metering, the district produces some of its own electricity with a full credit value of $0.15 per KWHr.
• Direct Digital Control system: A 24-hour/day system regulates all the mechanical and electrical systems, and it can be monitored by the District’s operation staff via the internet. SunViewer software (http://www.sunviewer.net/ by Heliotronics) is used for the photovoltaic system.
• Optimal north/south building orientation to maximize natural light: Daylight harvesting not only decreases electricity consumption, but has a well-documented, positive effect on the learning environment.
• Strategically placed, energy-efficient operable windows: Provide natural ventilation and temperature control when appropriate.
• Photo sensors in every classroom supplement the daylight harvesting system: These automatically dim banks of lights when there is ample natural light.
• Occupancy sensors on all lighting controls: Automatically turn off all lights in unoccupied rooms.
• Indirect T-8 lighting: uniform light and reduced power consumption.

recycled-content and health-promoting materials

A significant element of green design is using materials with high recycled content, which saves on the use of natural resources, conserves landfill/disposal space, and minimizes student/teacher exposure to chemicals and off gases. Monument Valley features:

• High recycled-content materials used included carpeting, acoustical ceiling tiles, and toilet partitions.
• Low-VOC carpets and paint.
• A dedicated air ventilation system that brings in outdoor air to prevent sick building syndrome.

energy use projections & early results

Using a geothermal system for heating and cooling reduces fossil fuel and electrical energy consumption, and eliminates the need for chillers.

Monument Valley is a pioneer in the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative program. One of the first green K-12 facilities designed, architects and engineers based the design and material selection on performance documented in other types of green buildings. Expectations were for substantial reduction in energy consumption as compared to a minimum-code (base code) building of the same size. The photovoltaic/solar system was estimated to reduce electrical purchases by 25 percent. Together with the geothermal system, the projection was for a total reduction in energy consumption of nearly 30 percent.

results: better than expected

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In 2003 during the planning and design process, Kingscott prepared a study that established base projected energy use (heating, air conditioning, food service, lighting/technology, and domestic hot water) for the green Monument Valley Middle School.

So far, results exceed expectations with gas purchase 13.3 percent less and electricity purchase 23.4 percent less than the base projections.

A very exciting measurement is the annual consumption of BTUs (in thousands)/ square foot of 54.1. The current average rate for New England area buildings is 87, as reported by the U.S. Department of Energy, and the base use projected in Kingscott’s 2003 study was 81.7. Monument Valley Middle School’s rate is 54.1. This means that Berkshire Hills School District has saved $63,703 in energy costs this first year—converting operational dollars into educational dollars.

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A flagship project, Monument Valley Middle School’s performance is being closely watched. Its projected and actual results have been used in several major green school studies:

• The Incremental Costs and Benefits of Green Schools in Massachusetts (December, 2005), prepared for the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.
• Energy Conservation Report: The New Berkshire Hills Regional Middle School (June, 2004), for the Massachusetts Electric Company.
• Greening America’s Schools-Costs and Benefits (October, 2006), sponsored by the American Federation of Teachers, American Institute of Architects, American Lung Association, Federation of American Scientists, and U.S. Green Building Council.
• National Review of Green Buildings: Cost, Benefits, and Implications (December, 2005).

Steven Soule, assistant business administrator for Berkshire Hills Regional School District summed up the success of this project: “Our entire community is proud and excited about the innovative choices made for Monument Valley Middle School. The systems are not only reducing our energy costs, but serve as a learning tool for area teachers and students.”

SIDEBAR: monument valley middle school

size: 81,315 square feet

project cost: $15.5 million

completion date: august 2005

location: great barrington, mass.

project team

owner: berkshire hills regional school district

architect/engineer/interiors: kingscott associates, inc.

local architect: roy s. brown architects

general contractor: d.a. sullivan and sons, inc.

structural engineer: barry engineers & constructor, inc.

civil design/landscape architect: o’boyle cowell blalock and associates

site utilities/civil engineer: vincent f. guntlow & associates

commissioning agent: sei companies

construction monitoring: construction monitoring services, inc.

photovoltaic system: global resource options


sustainable materials and systems

photovoltaic panels: bp solar (bp-3160)

invertors: solectria (pvi-13kv)

data systems: heliotronics

geothermal wells: ogden well and pump company

heat pump systems: climatemaster, mcquay eer-15.87 to 19.36

low-voc/recycled carpeting: interface

linoleum: forbo

low-voc paint: sherwin-williams

hvac controls: invensys

lighting controls: lcd

lighting systems: metalux, indy, cooper, us lighting, nulite, gardco, hubbel, iota, focal point, beta calco

toilet compartments: comtec

acoustical wall/ceiling panels: tectum & armstrong