Green Buildings
Housed within operations, the Energy & Sustainability team plays a vital role in supporting the broader operations of the district. Our focus is rooted in optimizing the energy efficiency of our buildings while identifying key areas for sustainable enhancement. In collaboration with the construction team, we bolster their efforts in meticulously planning top-tier educational facilities that prioritize environmental stewardship for both higher-quality learning environments and reduced utility bills.
Electric Vehicle Charging Stations & Electric Vehicles
In August, 2016, SVVSD’s Energy & Sustainability Department was awarded a grant by the Regional Air Quality Council to install electric vehicle charging stations and purchase two electric vehicles. Since then, we have installed 13 chargers and have added two additional electric vehicles to our operations fleet.
Stations have been installed at the following locations:
Lyons Elementary
Silver Creek High
Clover Basin Educational Services
East Bus Terminal
Mead High
Innovation Center
Grandview Elementary
Soaring Heights PK-8
Niwot High
Niwot Elementary
Education Services Center (ESC)
Main Street School
Hygiene Elementary
Mead Elementary
SVVSD Green Buildings & Features
Frederick High
Frederick High is a LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Silver Certified building, school through the U.S. Green Building Council scoring 53 out of 110 possible points. LEED is an internationally recognized green building program providing building owners and operators with a framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations, and maintenance solutions. Participation in the voluntary LEED process demonstrates leadership, innovation, environmental stewardship, and social responsibility. LEED provides the tools to immediately impact a building’s performance and bottom line while providing healthy indoor spaces for a building’s occupants.
What do the students at FHS think about their schools’ green features?
“I think every building should go green. Going green has inspired me to do as much as I can to help the environment. We use too many lights when its day time and cutting that down makes an impact. Making buildings green can change the future”
-Gabriel Guteriez
“I thought Green Building was just solar panels on buildings, but there’s more to it. After the Frederick High School tour, I want to know more about green buildings/being green.”
-David Yang
“To start off I knew this building was green, but I didn’t know how green. Our old ‘Frederick’ was dark and stuffy, now at this new school is open and bright and the environment is enjoyable to learn in. With all of the light tubes and windows make it really pleasant.”
– Brittany Marshall
Red Hawk Elementary
Red Hawk is a LEED Gold Certified building. SVVSD and the design team set high-performance goals for Red Hawk Elementary School in Erie, Colorado. Early in design, the project was accepted for the Xcel Energy Design Assistance Program, which offers cash incentives to offset soft costs of high-performance design. The project goals include energy consumption at 32 kBtu/sf/yr, more than 50% lower than the average school in Colorado, and .8 W/sf for electric lighting. The sustainability highlights incorporated into the design include a ground source heat pump system, a high-performance building enclosure, adequate natural daylighting throughout, and non-toxic and sustainable materials selections. Additionally, the school district and principal are committed to implementing a sustainability-focused curriculum. IBE joined the project team to facilitate green design and construction and LEED administration.
“The green building movement offers an unprecedented opportunity to respond to the most important challenges of our time, including global climate change, dependence on non-sustainable and expensive sources of energy, and threats to human health. The work of innovative building projects such as Red Hawk Elementary is a fundamental driving force in the green building movement.”
-Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO and founding chair, U.S. Green Building Council
For more information on what makes a school green, please visit the USGBC Center for Green Schools