At California schools, it’s cool to be a zero—zero net energy (ZNE), that is. The state’s investor-owned utilities, in partnership with the California Public Utilities Commission and other agencies, bestow ZNE School Leadership Awards to K–12 schools and community colleges that are leading the way toward a ZNE standard for school environments.
In 2017, six schools or districts received a ZNE School Leadership Award, including Sonoma Academy and Bishop O’Dowd High School.
Sonoma Academy’s Architecture, Engineering, and Construction Team was honored in the “Team ZNE Leadership” category for its work on the school’s new Guild & Commons project. The team is taking an integrated approach in every step of the design-build-post-occupancy process, including educating the community and empowering stakeholders and policy makers. For this project, Sonoma Academy embraced three benchmark systems: LEED Platinum, Living Building Challenge, and zero net energy. The project is estimated to achieve a net positive energy use intensity (EUI) of -4.85 kBtu per square foot per year.
Bishop O’Dowd was recognized in the “Outstanding Building” category for its Center for Environmental Studies. As part of the school’s integrated community design process, environmental science students camped out on the site and recorded their findings; the site analysis became the basis for passive design strategies. The building uses natural ventilation and heating only, and its energy use, production, and domestic water and rainwater use are monitored and displayed on a building dashboard and online. Overall, the school currently uses a net positive EUI of -1 kBtu per square foot per year.
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