Environmental/sustainable mission

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Recycling at Central
Campus-Wide Thermostat Temperature Set Point Policy

New Education and Psychology building

Central College will demonstrate its commitment to students, energy conservation and environmental responsibility in a new 57,460 gross square foot education and psychology building. It will provide new classroom and instructional space for two of Central’s largest and most distinguished academic departments. It will also house Central’s community-based learning department. Read below for some of the buildings Green features or click on the link for more images and project information.

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.

Green Facts

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

• Houses on site will be re—used (one house was sold to Habitat for Humanity).
• University Apartments will be demolished and materials recycled.
• Building materials will incorporate high recycled content.

Eco-Logo Photo

Central’s eco-logo photo shoot was a way to raise awareness of Central’s commitment to environmental stewardship. The idea was developed from the Office of Student Life, Facilities Planning and Management and the Campus Sustainability Work Group. Participants were given a recycled content eco-logo frisbee.

Printable Eco-logo photo

Special thanks to Randy Nugteren and Bob Nielson of Garden and Associates in Oskaloosa for providing the engineering and survey services required for laying out our "Eco-logo on the lawn". Also thanks to Dale Van Donselaar of Dale Photograpics Inc. in Pella for the photography.

Please click on the link, to access the paper written by Adam Bartelt '08, to find out the vision behind his creation of the
Eco-logo.

Electric vehicle conversion

We've converted one of our older service fleet pickups to an all electric (no gasoline) vehicle.  The pickup is our CUI 21, a 1989 Chevrolet S-10.  The work was done in our warehouse fleet shop by Facilities Team fleet mechanic, Ron Hoksbergen, with some assistance provided by service technician Gerrit VerHey.   

The components of the conversion were purchased in a kit provided by Electric Vehicles of America located in Wolfeboro, NH.  The truck operates using 20 - 6 volt T-125 Trojan deep cycle lead/acid batteries wired in series for 120 volt output.  The vehicle's engine is being replaced with a 27 horsepower (continuous) direct current electric motor which has the ability to produce 90 HP for short periods.  This electric motor was attached to the vehicle's existing manual transmission; however changing gears does not require the use of the clutch due to the fact of no engine inertia.  For around town use, we will most likely never change gears.  The bed of the pickup tilts up to allow service to the batteries in the compartment between the frame beneath.  The range of the vehicle is totally dependent on speed, hills, wind, etc., but we expect it to be capable of a trip to Des Moines and back before requiring a recharge.  We're told that if maintained properly, we should get 18,000 - 20,000 miles from a set of batteries before requiring replacement.  The conversion kit consisted of drive system components, an on-board battery charging system, instrumentation, power brakes, electric heater, and a training video at a cost of about $7,000.  The batteries came from a local automotive supply at a cost of $2,300.  The electric vehicle (EV) will be used by the Facilities Team as an errand / preventative maintenance service vehicle.   

Check out our Gold LEED rated project!

The 1203 Independence
Pod Addition

The Central College 1203 Independence Residence building, known on campus as “the Pods,” is the second building in Iowa to be selected to receive a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building gold rating from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Central’s Vermeer Science Center received the state’s first LEED-rating earning silver in 2003.
The college believes the facility will provide better livability for residential students, serve as a flagship for future sustainability, and enhance the community and overall quality of campus life.
In recognition of building certification, the USGBC presents the project team with an award letter, certificate and metal LEED plaque indicating the certification level.



To find out more about this project's pursuit of a LEED™ rating click here.

Click here to access the
1203 Independence pod addition website

This website, for our Gold LEED rated "Eco-dorm", contains information on the building's green features as well as providing residents with the addition's recycling and green-cleaning requirements. You will also find graphics displaying the real time performance of the pod's renewable energy projects. One page is devoted to displaying current and accumulated energy consumption for the addition, showing which pod conserves (or consumes) the most! Wireless internet is now available for the pod addition residents. The 37" LCD in the building's main gathering space is now displaying the same information found on the website.

Read an article at SchoolFacilities.com about the 1203 Independence pods kiosk and the pod addition website.

Please click on the following links to find out more information about our sustainable projects and mission.............

News Release - Talloires Declaration signed
News Release - Campus Climate Commitment
Carlson Field station
Dolphin water treatment device
Sustainable LEEDers presentation
Vermeer Science Center
Weller Center
Wind Turbine Feasibility Study

Strategy #15 of Central's strategic plan – Actively Pursue the Central College Community Goal “To Promote and Model Appreciation of our Natural Environment and Stewardship of Its Limited Resources”

Recycling at Central

Central's recycling program
and trailer schedule