MSU’s Romney Hall receives national recognition as LEED Gold building

BOZEMAN — A century-old structure recently renovated to provide much-needed classroom space and student services at Montana State University has received national recognition for its high energy efficiency and other exceptional design features.

Romney Hall has been awarded LEED Gold certification, the U.S. Green Building Council’s second-highest level in a ranking system that evaluates a building’s carbon footprint, water conservation, material selection, construction waste reduction, indoor air quality and more.

“This LEED certification demonstrates that even a renovation of a 100-year-old building can be energy-efficient and include a range of sustainability measures,” said Megan Sterl, engineering and utilities director in MSU’s University Services. “It’s a great case study for how others in the state or the nation could do the same.”

As part of the certification process, energy modeling showed that the renovated Romney, which opened last November, is expected to use 41% less energy than a similar building designed to minimum code requirements. A state-of-the-art heating and cooling system includes a “solar wall” on the building’s south face that pre-heats ventilation air using sunlight. Distributed throughout the building are roughly 40 heat pumps — like air conditioners that can also run in reverse to warm the space — that transfer heat to and from a geothermal system. In tandem with the renovation, 84 geothermal boreholes — each 700 feet deep, housing closed-loop pipes that circulate a water solution — were constructed in the open space north of the building to take advantage of the relatively constant temperature underground. The geothermal system and solar wall provide most of the heating for the building, meaning that the main energy input is electricity that efficiently runs the heat pumps and ventilation units, Sterl explained.

“Romney has been an incredible sustainability success in that we were able to reuse a 100-year-old building, transforming an iconic and historical structure into a premier teaching facility to serve students for decades to come,” said John How, associate vice president for University Services. The energy efficiency is important, he added, because reducing energy use has long-term implications for reducing the operations costs for the building.

“These renovations will lower long-term costs for the building, which is part of our mandate in being stewards of student and public dollars,” How said.

Renovating the old structure posed significant challenges for achieving high energy performance, according to Michael Bowers, project manager in MSU’s Campus Planning, Design and Construction, who oversaw the Romney renovation with Grant Petersen, MSU construction manager. With a premium put on space for 17 classrooms with more than 1,000 classroom seats as well as centers for mathematics, writing, veterans and students with disabilities, the team had to get “really creative” to tie together the heat pumps and other ventilation equipment, he said. “It’s definitely a lot harder than with new construction, but we were able to make it happen.”

Romney Hall is now one of the most heavily used academic buildings on campus, and to reduce heating and cooling losses, high-performance insulation was added throughout most of the exterior walls, Bowers noted, and all the windows were replaced or restored. All lighting is provided by LEDs, which use significantly less energy than traditional bulbs.

Other factors that earned the Romney project LEED points include:

• During the renovation, 78% of construction waste, or 2,319 tons, was diverted from the landfill through recycling or reuse.
• Efficient water fixtures were installed to reduce indoor water use by an anticipated 33% compared to standard fixtures.
• The lighting system allows for a high level of control over lighting levels, contributing to energy efficiency as well as occupant comfort.
• All flooring materials, paints, adhesives and sealants meet low-emitting standards to contribute to high indoor air quality.

The Romney project will continue to advance energy efficiency on campus, Sterl noted, because the geothermal boreholes under the Romney Oval are situated and sized so that they can also easily serve other nearby buildings to form what’s called an energy district. That would effectively allow Romney Hall to exchange excess heat with other buildings, creating an added dimension of efficiency. As a result, the Romney geothermal boreholes are projected to reduce MSU’s associated carbon emissions by 1 million pounds per year, or about 20,000 metric tons over the lifetime of the system — a significant step toward the goal in MSU’s Sustainability Framework of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. A similar multi-building geothermal system serving Jabs Hall and three other MSU buildings has reduced energy costs by an average of $130,000 per year.

“In some ways this is just the beginning of the story of how Romney contributes to MSU’s sustainability goals,” Sterl said.

The State of Montana Architecture and Engineering Division supported MSU in managing the design and construction of the project. Cushing Terrell providing architecture and engineering services, and Swank Enterprises was the general contractor. The repurposing of Romney Hall was made possible by a $25 million appropriation by the 2019 Montana Legislature and private donors.

Romney is the 10th building on the MSU campus to be certified through LEED. Earlier this month, the recently opened American Indian Hall was awarded Platinum, the highest level, under LEED v4. Norm Asbjornson Hall is also rated LEED Platinum. Rendezvous Dining Pavilion, Cooley Lab, Jabs Hall, Gallatin Hall and Yellowstone Hall are all certified LEED Gold. Gaines Hall and Miller Dining Hall are certified LEED Silver.

 

This story is available on the Web at: http://www.montana.edu/news/22049