As covered by EDC in the May 2011 article “Opening Windows to Cutting-Edge Education,” the Center for Energy Efficient Design (CEED) opened its doors in November 2010, as the first public school in the U.S. built according to Passive House (or Passivhaus) standards, arguably the world’s highest standards in energy-efficient construction. After a full year of operation, this Franklin County Public School, located in Rocky Mount, Va., has exceeded energy performance expectations.
The CEED was designed and built by Adam Cohen, co-owner of Structures Design/Build and one of approximately 250 certified Passive House designers in the U.S. Cohen predicted that the school would use 10,686 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy annually, which is 68 percent less than the modeled baseline of 31,632 kWh annual energy usage of a standard building. In the CEED’s first year of operation, actual energy usage figures were 10,050 kWh — 6 percent less than the predicted usage. Additionally, a thermal comfort survey was issued among teachers and students who use the building. When asked about comfort levels with air temperature, humidity and air quality during four seasons, the results showed zero percent dissatisfied users. According to Cohen, the survey’s results support the European findings of excellent thermal comfort in Passive House design.