Sage Electrochromics Dynamic Glass Selected For Chabot College Community & Student Services Cente

May 24, 2010 - PRLog -- Faribault, MN, May 24, 2010 – SAGE Electrochromics, Inc. today announced that its energy-saving, electronically tintable SageGlass® product is being integrated into the new Community and Student Services Center (CSSC) at Chabot College in Hayward, CA.  In addition to SageGlass, the facility features a variety of other advanced sustainability technologies designed to achieve aggressive energy-efficiency levels and maximum occupant comfort.  The CSSC and other facility upgrades on the college campus are the culmination of a $280 million bond measure supporting Chabot College’s ambitious sustainability initiative calling for “green intelligent buildings” designed to achieve a minimum LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) rating of Silver.  [Note to editors: additional photos available here http://esimages.com/sage-chabot/index.html].


As the centerpiece of Chabot College’s green intelligent building initiative, the CSSC deploys SageGlass as a strategic element of an integrated daylighting control system to manage sunlight and heat gain.  The dynamic glazing tints or clears within minutes, significantly reducing energy consumed for air conditioning, heating and lighting.  

The energy savings potential with SageGlass is significant since energy loss through windows accounts for about 30 percent of the heating and cooling energy consumed in the U.S.  According to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), SageGlass windows have the potential to reduce building heating and air conditioning equipment requirements by up to 25 percent, reduce cooling loads by up to 20 percent, lower peak power demand by as much as 26 percent, and reduce lighting costs by up to 60 percent.

The CSSC also features radiant heating and cooling in the atrium’s concrete slab in lieu of traditional forced air heating and cooling.  In addition, the facility is engineered with roof and ceiling “Air Scoops” to provide natural ventilation.  

“The CSSC represents the first critical point of contact our new students have with Chabot College and we believe strongly in optimizing occupant comfort factors that work in concert with energy efficiency design principles,” said Doug Horner, Project Manager with Chabot Community College.  “This one-of-a-kind facility accomplishes this by using advanced design elements, which provide natural daylight in all occupied spaces and access to outdoor views.  The CSSC also controls the amount of light to reduce heat gain as a means of increasing the comfort level of occupants.”
 
From an energy efficiency standpoint, the CSSC is targeting an energy reduction of 42 percent based on LEED Energy &Atmosphere Credit 1 (EAc1) and a renewable energy production of 12.5 percent based on LEED EAc2.

“The design approach we’ve taken for the CSSC delivers exceptional energy efficiency, due in large part to a ductless heating and cooling system,” said Phil Newsom, senior project manager with tBP Architecture.   “That system would not be possible without deploying SageGlass.  This revolutionary “dynamic glass” controls the amount of sunlight entering the two-story space.  As a result, it’s become an architectural enabler that has allowed us to create an HVAC-free space.”

The CSSC’s integration of sustainable energy efficiency technologies has created a highly intelligent building that seamlessly adjusts to its environment day-by-day, hour-by-hour and minute-by-minute.  The electronically tintable SageGlass adjusts to the flow of air through the natural ventilation scoops on the roof and thermal heating/cooling of the radiate slab in the atrium.  As air is brought into the building over the roof, the amount of heat transmitting through the glass works with the heating/cooling of the slab to generate an airflow pattern through the facility.  Depending on the targeted comfort zone, air is heated or cooled via the thermal slab and then allowed to rise out of the building without the use of an air-ducted ventilation system.  

“The CSSC is an amazing facility that demonstrates how energy efficiency and occupant friendly design principles can complement one another by integrating best-in-class sustainability technologies,” said John Van Dine, chief executive officer with SAGE Electrochromics.  “We are proud that SageGlass is a key element of this remarkable, highly sustainable facility.”


About SageGlass

SageGlass is currently the only commercially available, electronically tintable glass for use in commercial and residential buildings. These dynamic glass windows change tint to regulate sunlight while maintaining complete transparency to preserve occupant views to the outdoors. They change from clear to darkly tinted at the click of a button, and can be integrated into building automation and energy management systems to provide optimum energy savings.

SageGlass windows are installed in hundreds of buildings worldwide, including commercial, institutional and high-end residential applications.  The DOE’s LBNL, which has been evaluating SAGE’s products for more than a decade, considers electrochromic glazing to be the next major advance in energy-efficient technology, helping to transform windows from an energy liability in buildings to an energy source.

About SAGE Electrochromics, Inc.

SAGE Electrochromics, founded in 1989, is the world leader in the development, manufacture and international commercialization of electronically tintable dynamic glass for the building industry. For more information visit: http://www.sage-ec.com.

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SAGE Electrochromics, founded in 1989, is the world leader in the development, manufacture and international commercialization of electronically tintable dynamic glass for the building industry. For more information visit: http://www.sage-ec.com.