News
November 15, 2005 - Nation's First 'Green' High School Enhances Learning
GREENVILLE, S.C., Nov. 15 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Greenville County (S.C.) School District's 70-facility school building program isn't the only thing that's breaking new ground for the way America builds and finances schools. When the new Riverside High School opens next year, it may be the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly high school in the nation. In the long-run, it will cost less to operate the school (heating, cooling, irrigation, etc.), and in the short-run it will provide hands-on learning for students.
The company responsible for the financing and construction of the schools, Institutional Resources (InRe), has established protocol to make Riverside High School the country's one of the first such schools to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification. Only one other school in Denver, Colorado is known to have applied for LEED Certification. LEED is considered the Grade-A standard in energy and environmental design, and it is not an easy certification to achieve. However, the land on which the new Riverside High sits and InRe's foresight to have the school designed in a manner that reduces the environmental impact by using the existing site to maximize sunlight exposure, gave the school a shot at achieving certification.
"We're beside ourselves with the prospect of having a LEED certified school that we know will benefit our environment, too," said Riverside principal, Andy Crowley. "As a country, we don't do enough of this."
Crowley and his faculty are making plans to incorporate the new facility and grounds into their curriculums. For instance, the retention pond will be used as a learning center for science classes.
To achieve LEED certification, a school must achieve at least 26 of a possible 59 points. Institutional Resources is currently on track to achieve 36 points. Some of the things in the Riverside High program that will help achieve certification include:
-- Providing alternative transportation with the installation of bicycles racks including a changing/shower area for use by cyclists.
-- The use of a reflective Energy Star roof that reduces heat emissions from building in addition to providing an R-30+ insulation rating (versus typical rating of 19).
-- Installation of a constructed wetland and green (vegetated) roof area accessible by faculty and students to provide an outdoor teaching area.
-- Water systems designed to provide a 20 percent reduction in water use. Some items used to do this are the use of low flow faucets and waterless urinals.
-- Installation of light well monitors to maximize the use of the sun for inside lighting.
-- Use of solar panels to provide pre-heated water for the kitchen hot water system.
-- Diffused lighting system that prevents glare onto neighboring property, streets and the night sky;
-- Improvements to indoor environmental quality by the use of low Volatile Odor Contaminant (VOC) material for adhesives glues, sealants, paint, coatings and carpets.
-- The use of 50 percent of local/regional building material within a 500-mile radius.
-- Waste management to recycle/salvage 50 percent of construction, demolition and land clearing waste.
The actual cost to design and build the school won't be known until the project is complete, but the energy savings coupled with increased grant funding is expected to makeup for the financial difference in achieving LEED certification.
"There are a lot of environmental study grants out there that, in the past, we couldn't touch because the current school doesn't come close to meeting minimum efficiency requirements," said Crowley. "The grants we expect to get with LEED certification will definitely help offset the cost of attaining the certification. In other words, the results of LEED will far outweigh the cost of LEED in every aspect."
The Greenville County School District's building program is cited by the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) for making "considerable efforts to improve the health and environmental conditions in their existing schools." ELI is an independent environmental, education and policy research center, and identifies four key elements for the successful development of high performance school building initiatives: 1) strong local support, 2) adequate technical resources, 3) a clear framework for decision making, and 4) effective implementation. A summary review of the Greenville County School District's initiatives can be found at http://www.eli.org/research/schools.
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