For schools in drought-stricken areas, net zero energy and water strategies help future-proof against utility rate hikes. But, the price tag for net zero can be too high for school budgets. Fortunately, a library project at Sacred Heart School in northern California illustrates that it is possible to deliver a net zero energy building within a conventional budget while teaching kids about the value of conserving resources.
The small town of Chrisney, Ind., turned to net zero to overcome financial hurdles and realize the residents’ dream of building a library. The town lost its high school in the 1970s and then its highway due to an expansion and rerouting, and hoped a library would stem the tide of decline. For five years, the small, simple library has served as a source of pride for this shrinking town, providing a resource for information and a community gathering place while producing more electricity than it consumes.
What's a community to do when a beloved, but aging neighborhood library is deemed undersized, inefficient and inaccessible?
The Tanimura and Antle Family Memorial Library is the academic hub for California State University Monterey Bay, which opened 12 years ago on the site of former military base Fort Ord.
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