PDF Documents:
- Energy Efficiency Joint Release (57 k)
This document is from the New York State Education Department (SED) and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA):
"Some have argued that building energy efficient schools is too costly. But recent studies show that those arguments no longer hold up. The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (www.mtpc.org), for example, studied 30 high performance schools nationwide and showed that although additional upfront costs ranged between 1.5%-2.5% more than conventional schools, these “green” schools provided significant long term financial benefits, saving the district many times that amount over the long-term. Savings can accrue from reduced energy use, reduced water and sewer use, reduced equipment maintenance and replacement costs, reduced site maintenance, reduced liability costs, and even reduced costs due to lower teacher absenteeism." - High Performance Schools Guidelines from NY-CHPS (592 k)
These guidelines, entitled "Collaborative for High Performance Schools" (NY-CHPS)" were produced through a joint effort by SED and NYSERDA.
"The purpose of NY-CHPS is to provide a framework that helps school districts and their design teams design and build sustainable school buildings that enhance the educational environment and facilitate learning. High performance schools optimize resources over the life of the facility, are less expensive to operate than standard buildings, and help to ensure healthy, safe, and high quality learning environments for all occupants." - Understanding and Evaluating
Geothermal Heat Pump Systems
Prepared for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) by the GEOTHERMAL HEAT PUMP CONSORTIUM, 1050 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20036
This document describes the steps involved in evaluating a geoexchange, also known as ground source or geothermal, heating and cooling system. It describes the system and options and attempts to anticipate questions that building owners and designers might have about the technology. This document is designed to assist the layman in understanding the main concepts in geoexchange systems and in providing initial sources of information for the designer to pursue a specific project evaluation.