Financed through a public-private partnership (P3), Sandy Grove Middle School is the first net positive educational project of its kind in North Carolina.

Designed to meet LEED Platinum standards, this net-positive facility returns more energy to the grid than it consumes. Projections show the solar photovoltaic system will generate approximately 40 percent more energy than the school utilizes. The school will save its district more than $35 million over the next 40 years — $16 million in energy costs alone.

Innovative design and construction features include the large photovoltaic system, geothermal heating and cooling systems, high efficiency LED lighting and a whole building generator. The HVAC system consists of multiple heat pumps, with three (3) dedicated outdoor air systems (DOAS) providing pre-conditioned ventilation air to the facility. Domestic hot water is generated by means of water-to-water heat pumps. Building energy consumption (and generation) is metered and fed to a web-based Lucid dashboard.

The Architect was SfL+a Architects Inc., the M/E/P engineering was provided by Optima Engineering and the project was commissioned by Hanson Professional Services Inc. Completed and opened in August of 2013, Sandy Grove Middle School was named the National ENR Best of the Best project in the K-12 Education category.

On Thursday, April 24 at Cx Energy 2014, Robert Knoedler, P.E., CxA, EMP, of Hanson and Gretchen Coleman, P.E., CxA, EMP, of Gretchen Coleman

Commissioning Group, LLC, will present a case study examining the development and commissioning of this project.