Case Study: Carleton College Build Phius-Certified Student Housing
Results
- Carleton College’s 11 new buildings are projected to achieve a 70% reduction in energy use compared to 2018 IECC standards.
- The buildings achieved HERS ratings ranging from 27 to 30 without accounting for solar.
- The average air infiltration per finished building was 0.059 cfm50/ft2.
Highlights
Objectives
Carleton College built 11 Phius-certified student housing buildings, which CEE rated and certified, to align with its sustainability goals and plan to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
Scope
The 11 buildings sit on two sites and add 184 new beds and office spaces to the campus. The buildings constitute the first passive-house student housing project in the Midwest.
Benefits
Phius standards are the most rigorous efficiency and performance standards in the industry, making them more sustainable and less expensive to operate.
Project Background
Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, is known for its commitment to sustainability and climate leadership. In alignment with their Sustainable Future Framework to reduce emissions and improve the quality of campus living spaces, the College set out to build 11 sustainable student housing and mixed-use buildings. CEE provided initial design review, ongoing project consultation, and onsite testing and verification to ensure the buildings met Phius CORE 2021 standards. Cause Sustainability performed preliminary WUFI energy modeling and support throughout the project. Based on Cause’s final WUFI modeling of the as-built construction, the 11 buildings are projected to achieve a 70% reduction in energy use (50% from the College’s geothermal system and 20% from passive house principles) compared to similar buildings constructed according to the 2018 IECC energy code.