By Michael Earls with the Climate Justice and Sustainability Hub
October 7, 2024
Nestled between ISEC and Ruggles T station is EXP, Northeastern University’s new, dynamic eight-story center for science, engineering, and computational research. Opened in Fall 2023, EXP represents Northeastern’s ongoing commitment to research, collaboration, and sustainability. The building has now achieved LEED Platinum certification, one of the highest levels of recognition for energy efficiency and sustainable design.
EXP has met its ambitious sustainability targets, achieving a 50.6% reduction in energy use over baseline models through energy-saving features and on-site renewable energy from solar panels at Snell Library. These measures result in a 42.6% annual energy cost savings. Additionally, the building has reduced its natural gas site energy use by 73.5%, contributing to a total energy savings of 49.6% over a baseline lab building.
The research space was designed to be completely flexible, allowing for easy conversion between dry labs and wet labs to accommodate different occupants. The space promotes collaboration across disciplines and includes teaching and research labs, classrooms, a makerspace, dedicated areas for innovative work in autonomous vehicles, drones, and robots, a café, and a faculty club.
A combination of sustainable building elements enabled EXP to achieve LEED Platinum certification, with a strong focus on energy reduction. Key features include:
- Triple-glazed windows and exterior shading fins to reduce heat gain, enhancing overall energy efficiency.
- A heat recovery chiller that generates hot water by reusing heat rejected during the chilled water generation process.
- An enthalpy wheel for general office ventilation and a high-efficiency 2-stage run-around coil energy recovery system for lab exhaust to significantly reduce energy use.
- Chilled beams in offices and labs, reducing the need for outdoor air heating and cooling.
- A shared cooling system with ISEC, optimizing energy performance and reducing the building’s carbon footprint.
- A digital lighting control system that automatically dims or powers down lights based on occupancy and natural daylight, further conserving energy.
- Seventy-seven ductless filtered fume hoods which use advanced carbon filters and significantly reduce the need for additional heating and cooling. This technology displaces 270 tons of CO2 in embodied carbon while improving operational energy savings.
- Rainwater Harvesting for irrigation of planting beds on the 8th floor roof deck and make-up water for the cooling tower, combined with low-flow plumbing fixtures to optimize water savings.
The building envelope also plays a crucial role in sustainability efforts:
- Curtain wall systems featuring high-performance insulation and minimized thermal bridging.
- Envelope commissioning to ensure the building performs as designed regarding energy and water use.
EXP’s sustainability achievements are extensive, with 86 out of 110 possible LEED points awarded across categories such as Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, and Indoor Environmental Quality. This accomplishment not only exemplifies Northeastern University’s commitment to sustainability but also sets a new standard for environmentally responsible construction and operations.
Written By Michael Earls
October 7th, 2024