A power-packed campus
Danette Goulet
NEWPORT COAST -- With the constant threat of rolling blackouts looming
over the state, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District is preparing to
open an energy-saving school that could function comfortably most days
without even turning on the lights.
When Newport Coast Elementary School finally opens its doors next
month, after numerous delays, it will contain the most extensive use of
new conservation technology in Southern California, said Kim Scheer, a
spokeswoman for Southern California Edison.
The campus, on the corner of Newport Coast Drive and Park Ridge Road,
is designed to save energy in a variety of ways, making use of sunlight
and ocean breezes, said Gaylord Christopher, an architect with Perkins
and Will, the firm that designed the school.
If the lights go out at Newport Coast, students probably won’t even
notice. Shelves outside classroom windows and corrugated metal awnings
over outdoor walkways will reflect light into classrooms, keeping them
bright and sunny.
“In addition to putting energy-efficient lighting in, [the design]
tries to optimize daylight by putting in . . . motion-sensor lights,”
Scheer said. “It further uses what’s called photo-sensing lighting that
looks at how much daylight is available. As daylight gets brighter, it
phases the lights off. As sun sets, it phases the lights back on.”
The power company projects that the school will save 43% on its energy
bills, a possible $15,300 a year, Scheer said.
Edison will monitor those savings for the district, she added, and
also use it as a selling point for other consumers.
The innovations by no means stop at the lighting. Special classroom
designs with odd-angled ceilings to reflect light will also allow cool
air to be pulled in through windows and expel hot air through ducts near
the ceiling, Christopher said.
Other classrooms have windows on opposite sides to allow for a cross
breeze -- not a new idea, but unusual in schools.
The classrooms also are well-insulated to save on both heat and air
conditioning, said Mike Shotwell, the construction manager, and each room
has its own electric heating and air conditioning unit, which is more
efficient than heating or cooling an entire school.
But the real standout feature of the new elementary school will be the
solar-heated water.
The majority of all the school’s water will be heated through six
solar panels that face to the south, Shotwell said, though there are
backup gas and electric water heaters.
The water will constantly circulate from two 120-gallon water tanks,
through the six solar panels, and out to the school.
The water will be pumped continuously through the system and back to
the tanks and solar panels so it is always hot, Shotwell explained.
If the water temperature drops to a certain degree, the backup heaters
will fire up, he said, adding that it is much less expensive to have the
gas heaters on than it is to have them firing and heating the water at
all times.
“The other thing that we are really excited about is the opportunity
to explain these things to students so that they may learn about
stewardship of the environment,” Christopher said.
Instead of being enclosed, the water tanks under the solar panels will
be visible to students with a plaque explaining how the system works,
Shotwell said.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.