NREL Research Support Facilities (RSF)

Photo credit: RNL Design

Overview

• Location: Golden, CO
• Climate Region: 5B: Cool - Dry
• Building type(s): Commercial office
• New construction
• 218,000 ft2 (20,300 m2)
• Project scope: 4-story building
• Urban setting
• Completed August 2010

NREL's Research Support Facilities building (RSF) will be a total of 218,000 sq. feet. It will have two parallel secured employee wings, one of which will be 4 stories and the other 3 stories. A connector building housing most of the public spaces will run perpendicular through both wings. The RSF will provide workspace for 742 employees. The RSF is designed to be a zero energy building through the use of innovative energy efficiency, daylighting, and renewable energy strategies, including photovoltaic solar electric systems to generate electricity.

Environmental Aspects

The RSF contains many innovative features, including the following:

• Both single-sided and cross-ventilation strategies to naturally ventilate the building
• Hydronic radiant slab heating and cooling
• A dedicated outside air system in a displacement ventilation configuration from a raised floor
• Passive ventilation air preheat using transpired collectors on the building south face
• A below-grade remote mass labyrinth to store thermal energy (heat and coolness)
• Evaporative cooling for the data center with extensive heat recovery
• Aggressive window shading
• Daylight harvesting controls

A concrete/insulation/concrete tilt-up panel system provides significant thermal mass exposed to the building interior to allow effective nighttime cooling. All workspaces receive adequate daylight as a result of a narrow floorplate and an advanced light bouncing device on the south face of the building. Shelving, desks, and other equipment and finish materials are light-colored to further facilitate daylighting. The office floorplan is open so that each workstation has access to daylight and air can circulate freely.

A woodchip boiler supplies a portion of the hot water for heating. A 787 kW rooftop photovoltaic array and a 540 kW parking area photovoltaic array will produce more energy than the facility will use in a year.

Owner & Occupancy

• Owned and occupied by U.S. Department of Energy, Federal government
• Typically occupied by 742 people, 40 hours per person per week

Staff from both the Golden Field Office of the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory will occupy the RSF. To achieve energy performance goals, the workspace layout is open, with low cubicle walls and light-colored furniture that allow air to circulate and daylight to penetrate into the space.

Building Programs

Keywords

Integrated team, Design charrette, Training, Green framework, Simulation, Green specifications, Contracting, Commissioning, Performance measurement and verification, Operations and maintenance, Indigenous vegetation, Stormwater management, Efficient fixtures and appliances, Efficient irrigation, Drought-tolerant landscaping, Massing and orientation, Insulation levels, Glazing, Airtightness, Passive solar, HVAC, Lighting control and daylight harvesting, Efficient lighting, On-site renewable electricity, Adaptable design, Durability, Benign materials, Salvaged materials, Recycled materials, Local materials, Certified wood, C&D waste management, Occupant recycling, Connection to outdoors, Daylighting, Natural ventilation, Ventilation effectiveness, Thermal comfort, Noise control, Low-emitting materials

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Content Last Updated: 10/07/2009