Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Indoor Environmental Quality - King Library LEED Certification part 4
This week's segment highlights the 'indoor environmental quality' section on the Facilities website for the King Library LEED certification process.
This section focuses on how the King Library's construction and operation affects the health, safety, and well-being of the people inside the building.
The Library was built to take advantage of natural daylight, but also to be able to limit the sunlight in certain areas.
*Most of the library materials are housed in the interior of the building, so that many of the study areas could be placed near the windows and natural light.
*The electric lights near the windows are controlled by timers, so they will only turn on during evening hours.
*The glass public elevators and the atrium also bring natural light into the building.
*There are rolling window shades, outdoor overhangs, and window screening dots that help to shield unwanted daylight in conference rooms, offices, and other western and southern areas of the library that would receive the most intense sunlight.
The Library was constructed with materials that are not harmful to the builders or the people inside the building.
*NO building materials containing asbestos, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), or CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) were installed in the King Library. Asbestos, PCBs, and CFCs have been determined to be harmful to human health.
*All paints and adhesives were specified to be low in VOCs, volatile organic compounds that slowly release chemicals into the air over time.
*Smoking was not allowed during construction of the building.
Current library operations work to keep air quality desirable.
*The HVAC system (Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning) uses highly efficient MERV 14 air filters (Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value filter rating system) to remove particulates from the air like dust, spores, pollen, and toner particles.
*If the outside air is determined to be the appropriate temperature and humidity, the economizer cycle can pull in outdoor air for cooling rather than using the air conditioning system. Outside air can also be brought in if the carbon dioxide levels in the building are too high.
*Green cleaning products and methods are used. Vinegar is used as the primary cleaner and the custodial staff washes/reuses mopheads and rags rather than discarding them after every use.
Integrated Pest Management uses a variety of ways to deter and manage pests like insects or rodents.
*Non-chemical means are attempted first... like removing attractants (food), physically blocking pests from entering the building, or trapping/removing the pests (like hanging sticky traps for flies).
*If chemical means need to be used, the least toxic chemical specific to the pest will be used and the people in the area will be notified so they can take appropriate precautions.
Green tip of the week: Consider trying out green cleaning products at home....like vinegar, baking soda, and warm water.
Here's a USA Today article that discusses using vinegar and baking soda as alternatives to traditional cleansers, especially in homes with children.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2009-04-21-green-cleaning_N.htm
Here's the link for the indoor environmental quality webpage for the King Library LEED certification:
http://www.sjsu.edu/fdo/energy/sustainability/king_lib_leed/kingleed5ieq/
Here's some other webpages that discuss indoor environmental quality:
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/ia-intro.html
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/indoorenv/
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Materials and Resources - King Library LEED Certification part 3
This week's segment highlights the 'Materials and Resources' section on the Facilities website for the King Library LEED certification process.
The King Library can earn credit points towards LEED certification if it was built with sustainable materials and in an environmentally-friendly manner.
Here are some examples:
*Recycled wood, concrete and steel were used in construction for the King Library.
*The original brass doors from the SJSU Wahlquist Library were reused for the 4th floor boardroom.
*An existing bamboo grove near the Wahlquist Library site was relocated during the construction of the King Library and later transplanted near the old science building after construction was completed.
*A redwood tree that was cut down during construction for the King Library was converted to veneer and featured as an art piece building column from the lower level up through the 8th floor.
LEED credit points can also be earned based on the manner in which materials are used in the King Library.
*Paper recycling bins are located at public printing/copier areas and recycling collection containers for glass/aluminum cans are located throughout the building.
*Recycling collection stations were established for cell phones at the 5th floor Beethoven Center, batteries in 4th floor staff lounge, and printer cartridges in the 4th floor administrative copier area.
*Furniture is reupholstered, rather than disposed of in favor of new pieces.
*Construction projects in the library are required to recycle 75% of all waste materials produced, either by traditional recycling or by sending refuse to Greenwaste's Material Recovery Facility, MRF.
*More than 90% of the library's 'trash' is sent to the MRF, including wood, plastics, metals, food waste, glass, and paper where it is sorted for recycling, composting, or integration in postconsumer products.
*The library's purchasing policy is to buy supplies made of recycled materials or postconsumer products whenever possible....such as office copier/printer paper or paper towels partially made from recycled paper fibers.
Green tip of the week: Look for products with the postconsumer labeling when shopping and consider purchasing postconsumer items made from recycled materials.
Postconsumer labeling is typically found on these items:
*cereal/cookie/cracker packages
*detergent/cleaning supply containers
*glass containers
*paper towels
*writing paper, greeting cards, stationery supplies
*carpeting
*plastic flower pots, trash cans, recycling bins
*fencing
*packing boxes
*re-refined motor oil
*insulation in ski jackets/gloves/sleeping bags made from recycled PET (#1) plastic bottles
Here are some links to photos of postconsumer labels:
http://pebblecreekpartners.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/postconsumer.gif
http://www.casualcomfortinsulation.com/RecycledSymbol.gif
http://nnrg.org/images/FSC%20Mixed.jpg/image_preview
Here's the link for the materials and resources webpage for the King Library LEED certification:
http://www.sjsu.edu/fdo/energy/sustainability/king_lib_leed/kingleed4mr/
Here's a link about the campus recycling program:
http://www.sjsu.edu/fdo/operations/recycling/info/
Friday, June 4, 2010
Energy and Atmosphere - King Library LEED Certification part 2
The next segment on the Facilities website for the King Library's LEED Certification process discusses water resource savings.
Since there was already a green tip written about water in the King Library a few weeks ago, this week's green tip is highlighting the Energy segment.
Did you know we have a power plant on campus?
2/3's of the campus electricity is produced by a natural gas-fired turbine at SJSU's Central Plant on 10th Street.
A by-product of running the turbine is heat, which is captured and distributed as steam to heat campus buildings, including the King Library.
SJSU's Central Plant also produces chilled water using 20,000 gallons of recycled water per year to run the air conditioning system on campus.
(SJSU does purchase some electricity from PG&E.)
In 1999/2000, the King Library building was designed to use 32% less energy than the minimum energy standard listed under the California Building Standards Code (CA Title 24). The building earned a "Savings By Design" award of $250,000.00 from PG&E in 2004.
However, the building design is not enough. Ongoing testing (via a Monitoring Based Commissioning Project, or MBCx) must be conducted to make sure the energy savings remain within the desired ranges.
Here are some of the adjustments that came out of the MBCx testing:
*The lighting near the windows of the King Library were designed to be off during daylight hours. During testing, these lights were found to be on during the day. The time clocks were adjusted so that the lights would remain off during daylight hours.
*The three most common light fixtures in King Library were examined during testing. These fixtures were retrofitted and lower wattage/brighter light bulbs were installed.
*Occupancy sensors were installed in the stacks so that the center stack lights will turn off during times of non-activity. The lights on the ends of the stacks remain on for safety.
Are we using any renewable energy?
Right now, if we added solar panels to the King Library roof, they would produce less than 3% of the energy we're using.
In time, the photovoltaic technology for solar panels will improve to become more efficient and might be an option later.
The King Library received an award for the 'Best Practices in Energy Efficiency Award in Lighting Retrofit category among 23 California State University campuses' last month.
Here are some statistics from the library's facilities specialist that highlight the retrofit project:
* Lighting Retrofit itself reduced energy consumption by 22%
* Additional repair of some mechanical issues during the course of the Lighting Retrofit project further reduced our energy consumption by 6.7%
* Total consumption reduction = 1,937,174 kWh/year
* Incentive received from PG&E for the Lighting project = $378,195
* Annual energy savings as the result of the Lighting project = $309,948
* Annual savings on repair & maintenance = $120,000
* Total cost of our Lighting project = $1,480,000
* Project payback period (including annual repair/maintenance savings) = 2.24 years
Green tip of the week: Consider changing out your incandescent light bulbs for the energy efficient fluorescent bulbs.
Remember old incandescent bulbs can be disposed of in the trash, but any fluorescent bulbs need to be taken to a participating partner for recycling. Fluorescent bulbs contain mercury and are considered hazardous waste, so they cannot be disposed of in the trash.
Here is a link of participating partners and hardware stores that accept fluorescent bulbs for recycling:
http://www.sccgov.org/SCC/docs/SCC%20Public%20Portal/attachments/Retailers.pdf
Here are the links about energy savings in the King Library for LEED certification:
http://www.sjsu.edu/fdo/energy/sustainability/king_lib_leed/kingleed3ea/
http://www.sjsu.edu/fdo/energy/sustainability/lighting/KingLightMBCx/
Here are the links about water savings for LEED certification, if you're interested:
http://www.sjsu.edu/fdo/energy/sustainability/king_lib_leed/kingleed2wr/
http://greentipsandstories.blogspot.com/2010/05/way-forward-for-water.html
Some current news about previous green tips:
The CA State Assembly approved a measure to ban single use plastic bags in grocery, convenience, and other stores. The bill is now headed to be considered in the CA State Senate.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=10811198
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/03/BAOE1DOUFF.DTL
Coulomb Technologies, a maker of charging stations for electric cars, received national grant money and plans to install 4600 charging stations nationwide by October 2011, including some in the bay area.
http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_15205561?source=rss
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/innovation/06/02/cnet.electric.vehicle.charging/index.html?section=cnn_latest
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