Sustainable and Net-Zero Buildings on the NREL Campus
Many of the high-performance buildings on NREL's Colorado campuses have achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) or net-zero energy status.
By incorporating state-of-the-art energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, these buildings are models for sustainability. In addition, the campus features native and xeriscape vegetation.
South Table Mountain Campus: Golden, Colorado
The 182,500-ft2 LEED Platinum Energy Systems Integration Facility features 14 laboratories, an Insight Visualization Center, a High-Bay Control Room, and the world's most energy-efficient super computer.
Energy Use
The facility features:
- Office space designed to have an energy use intensity of 25 kBtu per square foot, per year
- Non-data center space designed to perform 30% better than ASHRAE 90.1 2007 standards
- Natural ventilation through operable windows
- Daylighting in about 80% of regularly occupied spaces
- Open office design and a narrow floor plate of 60 ft
- LED lights with a lighting control system
- Radiant heating and cooling.
Sustainability
About 27% of building materials contain recycled content.
Water Conservation
Water-saving features include:
- Dual-flush water closets
- Low-flow fixtures, including toilets, urinals, showers, and faucets
- Thermosyphon cooler, which significantly reduces the need for data center cooling tower water use.
Awards
2014 R&D Magazine Laboratory of the Year Award
2014 R&D Magazine Editors' Choice Award for the HP Apollo 8000 System
2014 DOE Sustainability Award
2014 Finalist for Project Management Institute's Project of the Year Award
The 362,055-ft2 Research Support Facility is an award-winning model for LEED Platinum, net-zero, and high-performance building design that incorporates the best energy efficiency and environmental performance technologies and practices in a large-scale commercial office building.
Designed to be a net-zero building, the 1,660-ft2, LEED Platinum South Site Entrance Building provides security services as an entry/exit point.
Energy Use
The building features:
- Daylighting
- Natural ventilation, including a 35-ft wind-catch tower and under-floor air distribution system
- 16.1-kW roof-mounted photovoltaics
- Geothermal water-to-water heat pump
- Radiant heating and cooling
- LED lights with a lighting control system.
Sustainability
- More than 35% of building materials contain recycled content and 2.5% are rapidly renewable.
- The building features low-emitting building materials.
Award
2013 U.S. Green Buildings Council Platinum LEED Rating
The 71,347-ft2 Science and Technology Facility was the first federal LEED Platinum building.
Energy Use
- The building was designed to provide a 41% reduction in energy cost compared to a standard laboratory building.
- Roofing materials are ENERGY STAR® certified.
- The building design exceeds ASHRAE 90.1 1999 requirements for energy efficiency.
- Windows on the north and south facades provide natural lighting.
- Energy is recovered from exhaust air to temperature-condition fresh air.
- Displacement ventilation is used for the offices.
- A high-efficiency chiller saves energy for both the Science and Technology Facility and the adjoining Solar Energy Research Facility.
Sustainability
- About 27% of the total building materials were manufactured within a 500-mile radius.
- No chlorofluorocarbon-based refrigerants are used in heating, refrigerating, and air-conditioning.
- About 80% (by weight) of the construction, demolition, and land-clearing waste was recycled or salvaged.
- At least 25% of the total building materials were composed of 20% post-consumer waste recycled content.
Water Conservation
- Storm water collects on the butterfly roof and flows into a series of ponds used to irrigate the landscape.
- The building features low-flow fixtures, such as ultra-low-flow (0.5 gallon per flush) urinals.
The 27,000-ft2 LEED Gold Integrated Biorefinery Research Facility features a high-bay biochemical conversion pilot plant that handles up to 1 ton of dry biomass per day, multiple stand-alone fermentation systems, and compositional analysis laboratories.
Energy Use
The facility features:
- Natural ventilation through operable windows
- Daylighting
- An open office design
- LED lights with a lighting control system.
The 12,140-ft2 LEED Platinum cafeteria holds 250 occupants and uses about 25% less energy than a cafeteria built to current commercial code.
Energy Use
Building features include:
- An energy use intensity of 150 kBtu per square foot, per year
- Daylighting and tubular skylights to achieve uniform light distribution across the main dining area space to limit the use of electric lighting
- ENERGY STAR-certified appliances and other high-efficiency equipment
- A kitchen ventilation system with demand-controlled exhaust hoods
- Cutting-edge duct grease sensors to monitor build-up and alert the operator when cleaning is necessary
- LED lights with occupancy sensors in the walk-in refrigerator, freezers, and hoods that turn on and off automatically.
Water Conservation
Water-saving measures inside and outside the building include:
- Dual-rinse, water-conserving dishwashers
- Methods for recycling stormwater
- Low-flow, pre-rinse water valves.
Award
2013 U.S. Green Buildings Council Platinum LEED Rating
NREL's parking garage is designed to LEED Platinum standards and is expected to perform 90% better than a standard garage built to code. The 578,320-ft2 structure has 1,800 parking spaces and 108 electric vehicle charging stations.
Energy Use
The garage's energy-saving features include:
- Daylighting and translucent skylights
- Natural ventilation
- 1.2 megawatts of facade- and roof-mounted photovoltaics used within the energy boundary of the Research Support Facility
- LED lights with a lighting control system.
Sustainability
The garage's sustainable features include:
- Bird-friendly glass
- Electric vehicle charging stations
- Incentive parking for high-occupant vehicles and low-emitting vehicles
- Recycled content in about 35% of the building's low-emitting materials
- Recycling drop-off center for paper, plastic, glass, batteries, and electronics.
Water Conservation
A drainage swale encourages ground infiltration of stormwater and snowmelt.
Built in 1994, the 6,459-ft2 Education Center displays technologies that can save energy, create jobs, and generate clean electricity and fuels from plentiful domestic, carbon-free sources.
Energy Use
The Education Center's energy-saving features include:
- A Trombe wall that lights and heats the exhibit hall
- A direct evaporative cooling system
- LED lights with a lighting control system
- An energy management system that monitors temperature, humidity, and occupancy.
Flatirons Campus
NREL's Flatirons Campus is a zero-energy campus that houses the National Wind Technology Center. When there is not enough on-site generation to satisfy the load, the campus imports the balance from the grid. When there is more on-site generation than on-site load, the campus exports to the grid.
Flatirons Zero-Energy Campus: Fiscal Year 2021
One Week of Flatirons Campus Energy Data


Share