New science building comes with $150K energy savings – Chicago Tribune

The newest building on the Valparaiso University campus was designed with safety and energy savings in mind.

The Center for the Sciences: Chemistry and Biochemistry offers 54,000 square feet and a massive air handling system meant to keep students and professors safe while they work in the lab, with enough energy efficiency bonus points to earn a rebate from NIPSCO of almost $150,000.

"It's almost completely lab space," said physics professor Andrew Richter, co-chair of the building committee, Tuesday.

The structure features large glass windows; science-themed photo montage artwork in the stairwells put together by students; and a glass sculpture hanging in the two-story foyer designed by Hot Shop, a glass blowing studio in Valparaiso.

The building also includes "lots of student space and tons of ways for students to gather together," Richter said.

But it's the building's energy efficiency that garnered a rebate of $148,765 from NIPSCO's Business Energy Efficiency Program.

"With a building that exchanges air so often, the basement looks like the engine room of an aircraft carrier. You could just bleed money in energy in a building like this," Richter said.

The university, he said, needed a facility that was up to air handling standards for safety because of all of the chemicals and other matter being used in the building's multiple labs, many of which were located in the Neils Science Center.

The Center for the Sciences has LED lighting; energy recovery in its air handling units; and variable volume air handlers that "respond to demand in the building," said Jason Kutch, the university's energy manager and facilities engineer.

Kutch was charged with seeing where the building stood in meeting baseline safety standards, and applying for NIPSCO's incentive program.

Most of the energy savings are derived from meeting the state's energy code, which dates back to 2007, said Byran Zichel, a field manager for Lockheed Martin Energy, which manages NIPSCO's program.

The program has different categories, including one for new construction, which is where the Center of the Sciences qualified.

In total, the university said the construction project saved 954,533 kilowatt hours and 80,861 therm. Just one of them is the equivalent energy output of burning roughly 100 cubic feet of natural gas.

"Really, the goal is anything and everything that saves energy, NIPSCO is willing to take a look at," Zichel said.

Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.

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New science building comes with $150K energy savings - Chicago Tribune

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