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Tomorrow's Energy Needs Today
The Portland Campus Library's original structural frame, when built in 1919 as a bakery, provided an ideal base for carrying heavy loads, whether tons of baking flour or hundreds of thousands of book. The frame, however, allowed heat loss in the winter and heat absorption in the summer.
To offset that flaw, designers decied to wrap the building in an insulating blanket of panels. They selected a system of panels of highly durable and energy-efficient exterior sheathing by Kalwall Company.
Designers augmented the Kalwall panels with high-efficiency lighting, heating, power, and other systems that will save an estimated 568,865 kilowatt hours per year over current energy standards for a building of this size. Those 568,865 kilowatt hours represent an annual savings of about $56,900 in utility costs. USM spent nearly $85,000 on special energy reduction equipment throughout the building, earning a $57,190 rebate from Central Maine Power Company.
Other energy conservation features include:
- All Lighting fixturesare equipped with T/8 lamps, considered the most energy efficient lamps available.The lights around the outside edge of each floor utilize ambient sensors, which will automaticallyturn on these perimeter lights at dusk and keep them on throughout the evening. They will remain on after the library closes at 11 p.m. for the maintenance crews and for security reasons.
- All other internal lights are triggered by sensors that turn the lights on as people enter the area, and turn off as they leave. There are no traditional light switches on the building's walls.
- The exterior Kalwall, which lets in a filtered, diffused light, decreases the need for internal lighting on bright days.
- A computer monitors all room temperature controls, adjusting those controls for maximum energy efficiency. That computer has the capacity to serve the entire campus in the future.
- The building is heated with three high-efficiency burners, each of which is far smaller than the traditional home furnace. Those burners, located on the seventh floor, are fueled by natural gas.
- There are no manual controls on the faucets in the restrooms. To minimize water usage, water flow is controlledby infrared sensors that supply water when you place your hands under the faucet.
As these and other features indicate, the library has been designed to meet the enviromental as well and the information needs of tomorrow.
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