TRANSPO, South Bend, Indiana

Ambient Energy is the Sustainable design and energy consultant for this new $19.4 million, 167,000 square foot maintenance operations and administration building. It is pursuing a LEED for New Construction Platinum rating, anticipated to be achieved in 2011. This type of building has a complicated mechanical system and therefore a LEED Platinum rating is difficult and, if achieved, this will be the first building type in the country to receive it and the first LEED-NC platinum project in Indiana. Ambient Energy facilitated a sustainable design charette, provided sustainable project facilitation, created sustainable Operations & Maintenance policies, performed energy modeling, renewable energy analysis, passive energy strategies, daylighting analysis, and life-cycle cost analysis.

Technology features include:

• 93.5kW PV thin film array
• T5HO lighting with daylight harvesting features
• Ground source heat pumps
• Radiant floor mechanical systems

The building is anticipated to:

• Reduce energy costs by 39%
• Receive 5% energy savings from renewable energy sources

VICTOR VALLEY TRANSIT AUTHORITY: ADMINISTRATION BUILDING AND OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE FACILITY, Hesperia, California

The Victor Valley Transit Authority facility consists of a 28,820 square foot Administration building pursuing a LEED-NC Gold rating and a 25,750 square foot Operations and Maintenance facility pursuing a LEED-NC Silver rating. Challenges for this project included the remote location making mass-transit commuting and recycling difficult. Ambient Energy is acting as the Sustainable Design Advisor, performing a sustainable design charrette, green materials recommendations, facilitation of LEED, a renewable energy study, life-cycle cost analysis, LEED EAc1 submittal and daylight modeling and consulting.

The following goals are being pursued for these buildings:

• 35% reduction in energy use
• 35% interior and exterior potable water usage reduction
• Incorporation of a photovoltaic system and transpired solar collector
• Diversion of 75% construction waste from landfill by recycling and reuse
• 20% use of regionally harvested, extracted and manufactured materials
• 20% use recycled content materials
• Daylight to 75% of occupied spaces
• Views to 90% of full-time employees

The following sustainable technologies will be included:

• Exterior shading
• High-performance, insulated, low-e glazing
• Radiant in-floor heating with 90% efficient condensing gas fired boiler
• Compressed air dryers controlled by dew point sensors
• Photosensors

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY AND VETERANS AFFAIRS, GRAND JUNCTION FACILITY MAINTENANCE SHOP No.3, Grand Junction, CO

LEED consulting and DOE2 energy modeling. Energy and life cycle cost effectiveness of the following measures were determined: higher levels of wall and roof insulation, glazing tuned for orientation, higher efficiency boiler, alternative heat wheel heat recovery, higher efficiency cooling system in office, indirect evaporative cooling, ground source heat pumps, and photovoltaics.