Whitman Hanson Regional High School is a public facility educating 1,300 students in grades 9-12. Its state of the art school building employs sustainable design principles utilizing resources from the electric and gas utilities and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) as well as the local Water Department.
To reduce energy needs for heating and cooling, the building envelope features high performance glazing, variable air volume (VAV) HVAC systems, a variable flow hot/chilled water pumping system, demand control for kitchen exhaust hoods, an optimized hybrid chiller plant with chilled water supply temperature reset control, a demand control ventilation system in gym, cafeteria and auditorium as well as the library and high efficiency condensing gas boilers. The occupancy-based ventilation system regulates air flow and temperatures based on the building usage. Energy requirements for lighting are greatly reduced due to extensive day-lighting features, reduced lighting power densities and direct/indirect pendant lighting fixtures.
The school system has contracted with an independent commissioning firm to ensure that the building is operated efficiently. MTC predicts Whitman Hanson will experience energy savings of 38 percent beyond code requirements. This will result in annual savings of $130,000, including the power from the photovoltaic system.