THE "ZERO ENERGY" BUILDING

Computer-Generated Image of "Zero Energy" Building, Viewed From the South

Computer-Generated Image of "Zero Energy" Building, Viewed From the North

THE "ZERO ENERGY" BUILDING

In cooperation with the Public Service Company of Colorado, SEAL researchers have developed and designed the "Zero Energy" office building.

The objectives of this project were to design a building that is pleasant to occupy, practical to build and energy conserving in the extreme. By developing a cooperative team including the architect and the engineers at the beginning of the project, we were able to design a building whose expected energy consumption is less than one-fifth of a traditional office building. Energy conserving features include:

Heat mirror glazing systems that reflect the heat back into the space to reduce heat loss.
Specular daylighting that eliminates the need for artificial lighting between sunrise and sunset on sunny days.
Evaporative cooling to air condition the building without refrigeration.
Highly insulated walls and roofs.
Passive orientation to allow the winter sun to reduce the heat load.
Active solar energy systems to supplement the heating system and reduce heating demand further.

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