Sustainability Initiatives

Net-zero in NYC

P.S. 62 in New York City, set to open in September, will be the first net-zero-energy campus in the nation's largest district. 
Aug. 19, 2015

P.S. 62, a $70 million campus set to open next month in Staten Island, is being billed as the first net-zero energy school in New York City.

The 68,680-square-foot, two-story school will welcome 444 students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade when classes begin on Sept. 8.

SOM, the architectural firm that designed the campus, says the school will harvest as much energy on an annual basis from renewable on-site sources as it consumes.

The building was designed to use 50 percent less electricity compared with a standard public school built in New York City.

The orientation and massing of the courtyard-shaped building takes advantage of rays from the sun for both ample daylighting and nearly 2,000 photovoltaic arrays on the roof and south facade.

Other sustainable and low-energy features: an ultra-tight high-performance building envelope, daylighted offset corridors, energy-efficient lighting fixtures, low-energy kitchen equipment, a greenhouse and vegetable garden, a geo-exchange system, energy recovery ventilators and demand-control ventilation, and a solar thermal system for hot water.

About the Author

Mike Kennedy

Senior Editor

Mike Kennedy, senior editor, has written for AS&U on a wide range of educational issues since 1999.

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