Squamscott Community Commons

Monthly Column

They Call It Green. We Call It Common Sense:
By Cleo Castonguay
January, 2009

Early in the development of the concept for a Seacoast community center, Squamscott Community Commons resolved that the facility would be a model for “green” design and operations. Reducing our carbon footprint and treading lightly on the environment make sense, and are part of our commitment to be fiscally, socially and environmentally responsible.

Even before gas and home heating oil prices hit the roof, The Commons’ volunteers realized that energy efficiency equals lower operating costs. And while we’re all interested in reducing our expenses during these tough economic times, these savings are especially important to nonprofit agencies struggling to balance rising overhead expenses and reduced funding, with the need to serve increasing numbers of people. The Commons will house six nonprofit agencies which, through energy efficiency savings, will be able to dedicate more money to serving the community and less to operating expenses. Now that’s common sense.

According to the EPA website, the most significant green construction benefits "...can be obtained if the design and construction team take an integrated approach from the earliest stages of a building project." The Commons’ team has done just that. Integrating energy efficient systems and design into a large facility with varied uses presents unique challenges. Designers have to consider a wide array of factors including room temperatures, humidity levels, lighting and sound-proofing. Imagine, for a moment, these three distinct environments: an office space, a workout room and a swimming pool. Now consider the three placed adjacent to one another, and you’ll have a sense of the difficulty of accommodating heating and cooling needs – as well as humidity, light and sound -- all with an overall eye to efficiency.

Climate is also an important consideration. Here in seacoast NH we might ask, how do we maximize sunlight as a source of light and heat? Since we live in a relatively moist area (averaging 48" of rain and 66" of snow in a year), how can we capture and reuse some of that rainfall and snowmelt? And while our daytime/nighttime temperatures during our coldest three months average about 15 degrees, the ground, just four feet down, remains a constant 50-55 degrees.

We are fortunate to live in an age when environmental technology is available, and where the public is aware of the urgency of pursuing a more environmentally sensitive approach to living. Each day brings more and more energy saving options, and while options are good, they also create the challenge of narrowing the field. Some technologies offer attractive long term saves but come with a prohibitive up front price tag; others are not optimally efficient in our New England climate, with its long winters and more than its fair share of cloudy days. The Commons is committed to finding solutions – not just alternatives.

After an immense amount of research, we’re proud to say that we have energy saving options that can be implemented with proven technology. As a result, we estimate the community center will consume up to – and perhaps much more than -- 30% less energy than a traditional building. This translates into substantial savings in operating expenses. Following are a few examples of innovations in design and technology we feel will be well suited for The Commons:

An energy efficient cogeneration system will produce electricity on-site, while generating heat that will be captured by a water source heat pump system for heating and cooling. The heat pump system has the ability to recover heat from one area of the building and transfer it to other zones; it can capture heat that is normally lost as hot water goes down the drain, or as warm air is discharged by a ventilation system. The system will be fueled by clean waste wood chips, available at a fraction of the cost of oil or gas. The potential also exists to sell back excess electricity to the power grid.
The building will feature "cool roofs" made of materials that effectively reflect the sun's energy from the roof's surface. Cool roofs reduce the roof surface temperature by up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, reducing the heat transferred to the building below.
1.6 million gallons of water can be saved annually by reusing rainwater and installing water-conserving fixtures.
Lighting accounts for over 25% of the energy consumed by a building. Specially-designed rooflines at The Commons will maximize natural light, reducing the need for artificial lighting.

Through these and other technology and design measures, The Commons will be designed and built to achieve LEED standards for sustainability. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

Our facility design and operations reflect our commitment to minimize our impact on the environment and to be a model of conservation for the region. Our goal is for the center itself to be a demonstration of technologies, practices and design that can be replicated by others. We hope that we are the tipping point for our community, making local sustainable design the norm and not just an innovative concept.

Now is this green or just plain common sense?

-- Cleo Castonguay is a member of the Squamscott Community Commons Facilities Committee and is a resident of Exeter.