SOLAR TODAY - May 2011

“People think DOT’s color is either yellow from our trucks or orange from our construction cones.

Today, DOT has a new
color — green.”
— NCDOT Secretary Gene Conti at
the opening ceremony, October 2009

INNOVATIVE DESIGN

A geothermal heat pump system, employing 13- to 300-foot-deep (4- to 91-meter-deep) wells, provides the heating and air conditioning for the main building.

and provides real-time data on temperature, pressure, wind speed and precipitation.

All data collected by the monitoring system is constantly displayed at the visitor cen-ter’s;main;hall;tower.;There,;two;LCD;screens provide the real-time information on savings as well as more detailed information on each specific;system’s;operation.;That;allows;the public;the;opportunity;to;better;understand how each system works and the savings pro-vided;by;each;system.;Then,;just;a;short;walk away, they can observe the actual sustainable design component.

To;enhance;NCDOT’s;goal;of;educating the visitors, interpretive signage throughout the building and site graphically depicts the operation of each sustainable design element.

Energy-Saving Features

The;energy;strategies;employed;in;the;design focused primarily on efficiency, passive heating and daylighting and secondarily on geothermal, solar water heating and photovoltaics.

Daylighting and Passive Design. The
daylighting strategies, facilitated by a good
southern;exposure,;were;simple;and;focused
on the main visitor center spaces as well as
the;restrooms.;The;goal,;which;the;monitor-
ing;system;has;shown;to;be;realized,;was;to
implement a strategy that would result in
daylight providing two-thirds of the annual
demand for lighting during daylit hours of
the year. To ensure the performance of the
daylighting, we implemented dimming con-
trols coupled with motion sensors to reduce
the;electrical;lighting;requirement.;Because;of
the;usage;requirements;of;the;spaces;within
the main visitor center, it was also possible
to integrate dual-function passive strategies

To enhance NCDOT’s goal of educating the visi- tors, interpretive signage throughout the build- ing and site graphically depicts the operation of each sustainable design element.