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The Academy of Architecture for Justice (AAJ) promotes and fosters the exchange of information and knowledge between members, professional organizations, and the public for high-quality planning, design, and delivery of justice architecture.

Exploring the Concept of Zero Energy

By Amber Alexander posted 10-30-2014 08:55 PM

  

Next week we will come together at the AIA AAJ conference in St. Louis to discuss justice architecture and how it is changing based on the needs of society. Erica Loynd with the DLR Group will be presenting with Eric Fadness and Lorenzo Lopez, both with Nacht & Lewis Architects, on the Net Zero Prison. During their session (FA02 Engineering the Net Zero Prison), we will see solutions developed to optimize loads through detailing and engineering systems to optimize loads toward net zero.


I have interviewed Lorenzo Lopez prior to the session. 


1.  As a general rule of thumb we should design to minimize energy and environment impacts, but why Net Zero for a prison? 

Prisons are 24/7/365 facilities and as such use more energy than buildings occupied primarily from 8am-5pm on weekdays.  The energy use is also somewhat predicable as long as the mission of the facility remains constant and therefore accurate sizing of systems is achievable.  Unfortunately, these facilities are necessary and most will be used for at least 50 years.  The energy used over the lifetime of the building will be greater than the initial cost of construction.  We would be wise to invest in net zero strategies now which more than pay for themselves over the years and reduce the burden of the building on the agencies which operate them.


2.  How do you create a net zero facility that does not compromise security and functionality? 
 

This is the challenge.  Many of the occupants of these buildings will attempt destroy the building and the systems.  This is why it is important to review the sustainable strategies that have already been employed on buildings to see what is working.  Many of the systems will need to be located outside of the secure perimeter- solar generation fields outside the fences, for examples.  The building envelope should be durable, so tilt-up concrete panels with integrated insulation (sandwich panels) are a great strategy.  Glazing is a challenge because security glazing is not insulated, and this is something we will discuss in our presentation.  What we have done in the past is to compartmentalize buildings into secure and non-secure zones so that we are not always limited by security requirements of inmate areas.

 

3.  Strict classifications state that all power must be created on site to meet or exceed the annual usage. A PV system array seems to be the most common strategy. What are some alternative strategies that can be utilized if ground space is limited?

First, we must start by reducing the amount of energy used at the facility by employing hyper efficient HVAC and lighting systems as well as high performance building envelopes.  PVs make the most sense in temperate areas with lots of sunshine.  Along the coast, wind generation may also pencil out.  One of the projects we will discuss in the presentation uses wind turbines.  Geothermal is another strategy.  It makes sense to locate energy generation systems beyond the secure perimeter of the facility, and therefore this drives a lot of real estate.  Since many of these prisons located in remote areas and/or requires large setbacks from populated areas, this is feasible.  However, at odds with this strategy is the energy required for inmates, staff, and visitors to get to and from the facility.  These are all topics we plan to discuss. Another possibility might be to consider the new generation of reactor technology that is emerging, but still 20-30 years away.  These reactors are about the size of a passenger bus and are buried in the ground.  They require no maintenance and essentially are a large battery that lasts 30 years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small,_sealed,_transportable,_autonomous_reactor  Obviously there will be some resistance to this technology, but even some environmentalists think it is the most sustainable strategy to power remote neighborhoods- or in this case, a prison.  Would a reactor qualify for on-site power generation within the definition of net zero?  Who knows.

 

 

 

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