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Minnesota student center lightens up with cutting-edge windows

A highly efficient window technology is letting the sunshine into the new Student Center Complex at Southwest Minnesota State University without letting in heat in the summer —or letting it out in the winter.

The university cut the ribbon on the bright new facilities in April, in time to test the windows in the hot, humid Minnesota summer. Now Facilities Director Cyndi Holm is almost looking forward to the winter heating bills. “We started getting excited about the windows during construction last winter,” she explained. “When we got them in, we could maintain a 55-degree temperature in 108,929 square feet with only five industrial space heaters.”

Dan Williamson of Horty Elving and Associates, the project architect, shares Holm’s anticipation. “The buildings hadn’t even been caulked and sealed at that point,” he said. “These windows have remarkable insulation properties.”

The Visionwall window system was included in a complete renovation following a major fire the school suffered a few years ago. The fire destroyed SMSU’s food service building and caused heavy smoke damage in the adjacent Student Center and Student Center West buildings.

Built in the ‘60s, the walls of the student center complex lacked proper insulation and the buildings were very dark. “It was a real bunker,” recalled Williamson. “The university president asked for a modern design that brought in lots of natural light.”

Windows fit design standards
The renovation also had to comply with the design standards specified by the Minnesota State College and University System, of which SMSU is a member. The standards require remodeling projects and new construction to incorporate sustainable design principles.

While the guidelines do not specify products or materials, the MnSCU Facilities Division had heard of a window technology that could reduce heat loss 50 to 90 percent over conventional windows. Some members paid a visit to the plant in Edmonton, Alberta, to learn more about the system. What they saw convinced them to recommend Visionwall windows to Horty Elving.

The Swiss window technology consists of two low-emissivity films suspended inside two panes of glass for an R-value performance between R-4 and R-7.1. A standard, single-pane window averages R-.9, while double-paned units filled with argon or another gas achieve around R-3.

The Visionwall system also reduces outdoor noise and eliminates condensation and ultra-violet degradation, so there was no need to tint the glass. “The windows completely illuminate both buildings,” said Williamson.

They are built to institutional standards, he added, so they don’t need to be replaced any more often than standard windows. “The glazing units will last about 30 years or so, and the aluminum mullions will last forever.”

Many measures help to control energy use
Energy efficiency comes with an upfront price, and Williamson estimates that to be a seven-year payback for the Visionwall windows. “If you factor in avoided cost for supplemental power, it’s much less than that,” he noted. “And that’s without calculating the money saved by optimizing natural lighting.”

As a Western firm power customer, SMSU pays more per unit for supplemental power when it exceeds its hydropower allocation. In an area where natural gas is the fuel of choice, the campus stands out for its use of electricity for heating and cooling, and for its efforts to save energy.

Other measures required by MnSCU standards and university policy will increase the efficiency of the student center building envelope. The new roof has an up-to-code R-25 value. Cavity wall construction and two-inch rigid insulation bring the walls up to R-19. The renovation also included the automated energy management system that SMSU has been installing in campus buildings over the last four years to control electrical loads.

Holm expects to see an improvement when the electric consumption of the food service building and the old student centers is matched against the total consumption of the renovated structures. Nevertheless, she pointed out, comparing the renovated buildings with the old structures won’t give an accurate picture of energy savings. “The old food service building is gone, and we added a floor to the Student Center as part of the renovation, so it’s really a different animal,” said the facilities director.

A bright, modern animal with a cutting-edge, energy-efficient shell, that is.