USACE developed an Elementary, Middle, and High School in the US Army Housing Area in Wiesbaden-Hainerberg, Germany. The three schools achieved individual LEED for Schools v3 Gold certification and were designed according to the “21st Century Schools” Program standard.
Baumann guided the project team through the successful LEED certification process and also provided fundamental, enhanced, and building enclosure commissioning measurement & verification (M&V), and energy modeling.
The energy model was used to optimize the design and all three schools achieved an outstanding result with energy savings between 45% to 59% compared to the ASHRAE 90.1 – 2007 Baseline. This was mainly achieved due to:
- High-efficiency pumps and fans
- LED lighting
- Low demand for mechanical cooling
- Optimized façade
The commissioning scope included HVAC systems, lighting and domestic water, emergency power, fire alarm, smoke extraction, sprinkler, communication systems, and the building envelope.
The strict commissioning process ensured the functionality of installed systems according to the design. Some of the items identified were:
- Wall openings w/o proper fire protection
- Noise exceeded allowed levels in several classrooms due to airflow
- Incorrectly installed temperature and humidity sensors in Air Handling Units
- Data points not shown or incorrectly displayed in building automation system
- Damaged or bent heat exchanger fins in the Air Handling Units
