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Campus Scene IN T HE SPOT LIGH T Ask the Expert This Month Building Systems Green Residence Hall for Berea College How can we find a more efficient way to add HVAC capacity for new and renovated buildings? KENTUCKY'S BEREA COLLEGE RECENTLY BROKE GROUND ON A new residential housing facility. The new 120-bed, 42,000-sq.-ft. student-centered residence hall incorporates multiple opportunities for education about sustainable living, including real-time monitoring of energy consumption via a special building dashboard. The structure is designed to respect historical context, achieve LEED Platinum certification, and pursue Petal Recognition under the 2.0 Living Building Challenge. Energy-efficiency features include a central geothermal heat pump; operable windows and ceiling fans with automatic fan coil unit shutoffs; and a rooftop 40kW photovoltaic array to provide 13 percent of the building's power. Students from the Berea College Wood Studio will participate in the design and construction of furnishings for the facility. Timber for furnishings and casing will be sourced directly from the 8,000-acre FSC-certified Berea College Forest and the building site. Exterior materials include 100-percent recycled-content brick. The building site utilizes rain gardens, bioretention ponds, and pervious concrete to manage stormwater runoff. The collaborating design firms of Hastings+Chivetta Architects, Inc. and Hellmuth+Bicknese competed separately for the project but were later asked by the selection committee to work in partnership. Completion is scheduled for August 2013. Park University Awarded Grant for Composting Park University in Parkville, MO, has been awarded an $11,700 grant from the Mid-America Regional Council to begin collecting and composting all food waste produced at the University's Parkville Campus cafeteria. The new food waste project, "Making the Most of Compost," will begin in January 2013 and will run through the calendar year. Starting in early 2013, Park cafeteria staff will collect all food waste that is created by diners in the cafeteria, including paper napkins and paper tray liners. Missouri Organic's Food Residuals Environmental Division will pick up the waste three times per week. The waste will then be composted at Missouri Organic's rural facilities and reused as compost. The grant team estimates the project { CONT. ON PAGE 8 } VARIABLE REFRIGERANT FLOW (VRF) ZONING technology is an efficient way to expand needed capacity for space-conditioning needs. The expense of running chilled water across a campus can make chiller expansion cost prohibitive. VRF zoning systems allow you to meet the growing needs of your campus with the added benefits of lower utility costs and precise comfort control. Suitable for a variety of buildings, VRF zoning systems use smart integrated controls, INVERTERdriven compressors, refrigerant piping, and heat recovery. They also provide ease of installation in existing and new buildings, energy efficiency, flexible operation, simultaneous cooling and heating, and individual zone controls. Using INVERTER-driven compressor technology, VRF systems match each zone's capacity and space temperature needs, providing precise comfort. VRF systems also feature complete zone control, design flexibility, ease of installation, long line lengths, and ultraquiet operation. Rachel Gutter, director of the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council, says that schools can recognize a 25 percent savings annually just by implementing a few cost-effective, energy-efficient measures. VRF zoning systems not only aid in building expansion on campuses but also help with the growing demands of after-hours activities inside campus buildings. And VRF zoning systems can be an easier and a less costly system when comparing to a chilled water expansion. Mike Smith is the senior marketing manager for Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating (www. mitsubishipro.com). Feel free to contact Mike at msmith@hvac.mea.com or 678/376-2920. DECEMBER 2012 / COLLEGE PLANNING & MANAGEMENT 3