Green Facts
LEED certification
Central College is a leader in the Midwest for sustainability. In recent years, Central made a commitment to create an environmentally-friendly community with a strong emphasis on sustainability. Central is seeking its third Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-rated building by the U.S. Green Building Council, a green building rating system. The college is striving for the U.S. Green Building Council’s top rating, platinum, for the new education and psychology building by using environmentally friendly building practices and energy efficient building design.
Energy Savings
- Green roof — filters and reduces roof water run-off and lowers roof temperature to ease energy consumption.
- Sustainable building site — building orientation and surrounding landscape features maximize solar gain in winter and minimize solar load in summer.
- Natural ventilating system — smart operable windows indicate to the HVAC system to stop mechanical cooling and increase natural ventilation when opened.
- Daylight harvesting systems — automatically dim or switch off artificial lighting when sunlight through windows and skylights is available.
- Radiant floor heating/cooling system — pipes under the floors help to heat and cool the building, reducing the requirements of the air moving system.
Water Conservation
- Native plantings and natural landscaping — requires no irrigation, reduces mowing and use of chemicals.
- Gray water system — collects roof rain water run-off which is used for flushing toilets.
- Pervious paving systems — allows rain water to penetrate to reduce storm water run-off.
- Low flow aerators on lavatories and dual flush toilets reduce water consumption.
Other Enviromental Benefits
- University Apartments were be demolished and materials recycled.
- Building materials incorporate high recycled content.
