The Hocking College Energy Institute, located on the Logan campus of Hocking College, was awarded LEED Platinum Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). This project is the first LEED Platinum educational building in the state of Ohio. The design team of DesignGroup, Heapy Engineering (MEP Engineers) and Shelley Metz Baumann Hawk (structural engineers) congratulates the administration and staff of Hocking College and the Hocking College Energy Institute on this significant achievement. The project received a total of 56 out of 69 points encompassing each category of LEED NC 2.2 and earned more points than any other project in the State of Ohio under the LEED NC rating system. It also meets the AIA 2030 Challenge for energy efficiency.

Designed in a BIM environment, the 12,200 square foot facility serves as the flagship building for Hocking College’s growing Advanced Energy, Fuel Cell, and Vehicular Hybrid programs. The facility houses a variety of curriculum spaces for sustainable technologies and is designed to engage students in a hands-on learning process. The building’s mechanical and electrical systems are visible and function as learning tools for students.

Some of the building’s characteristics that contributed to LEED certification include:

• A 21.2 kW photovoltaic array provides 15 percent of the building’s total electrical needs
  
• A 2.4 kW wind generator supplements the photovoltaic array
  
• A solar thermal hot water system provides hot water for the building
  
• Geothermal ground source heat pumps provide heating and cooling for the building while using 30 percent less energy than conventional HVAC equipment
  
• A 4,000 square foot green roof planted with native vegetation reduces stormwater runoff
  
• Operable windows provide natural ventilation during good weather
  
• Significant use of construction materials with recycled and regionally-manufactured content
  
• Bioswales and wetland retention ponds to keep storm runoff onsite
  
• Site planted with native Ohio prairie plants
  
• Uses less than half the energy of a conventional building of the same size and use
  
• Delivered for the same cost as a conventional building of the same size and use
  
• Alternative energy vehicles can be fueled using the facility’s compressed natural gas refueling station and electric vehicle plug-in refueling stations