Highlighting High Performance: Clearview Elementary School, Hanover, Pennsylvania

Program Document · Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 2002

OSTI ID:15000972

Case study on high performance building features of Clearview Elementary School in Hanover, Pennsylvania. Clearview Elementary School in Hanover, Pennsylvania, is filled with natural light, not only in classrooms but also in unexpected, and traditionally dark, places like stairwells and hallways. The result is enhanced learning. Recent scientific studies conducted by the California Board for Energy Efficiency, involving 21,000 students, show test scores were 15% to 26% higher in classrooms with daylighting. Clearview's ventilation system also helps students and teachers stay healthy, alert, and focused on learning. The school's superior learning environment comes with annual average energy savings of about 40% over a conventional school. For example, with so much daylight, the school requires about a third less energy for electric lighting than a typical school. The school's innovative geothermal heating and cooling system uses the constant temperature of the Earth to cool and heat the building. The building and landscape designs work together to enhance solar heating in the winter, summer cooling, and daylighting all year long. Students and teachers have the opportunity to learn about high-performance design by studying their own school. At Clearview, the Hanover Public School District has shown that designing a school to save energy is affordable. Even with its many innovative features, the school's $6.35 million price tag is just $150,000 higher than average for elementary schools in Pennsylvania. Projected annual energy cost savings of approximately $18,000 mean a payback in 9 years. Reasonable construction costs demonstrate that other school districts can build schools that conserve energy, protect natural resources, and provide the educational and health benefits that come with high-performance buildings.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: US Department of Energy (US)
• DOE Contract Number: AC36-99-GO10337
• OSTI ID: 15000972
• Report Number(s): DOE/GO-102002-1612; TRN: US200401%%355
• Resource Relation: Other Information: PBD: 1 Aug 2002; Related Information: Office of Building Technology, State and Community Programs (BTS) Brochure
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
CONSTRUCTION
COOLING SYSTEMS
DAYLIGHTING
DESIGN
EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES
ENERGY ACCOUNTING
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
GEOTHERMAL HEATING
LEARNING
PERFORMANCE
PRICES
SOLAR HEATING
VENTILATION SYSTEMS
Geothermal Legacy
INSULATED STRUCTURAL PANELS (ISP)
GEOTHERMAL HEAT PUMPS
SKYLIGHTS
LOW-E GLAZING
CLERESTORY WINDOWS
RECYCLED MATERIALS
RENEWABLE MATERIALS
NATIVE LANDSCAPING
BUILDING ENVELOPE
COMPUTER MODELING
LEED RATING
INDOOR AIR QUALITY
PENNSYLVANIA
BUILDINGS