How One Cool HQ Can Save the World

Why is Christian Hoepfner pointing to an empty elevator?

Because that elevator holds a lot of answers (and Kenny G songs). But let's back up. Christian is director of the Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems, which is HQ'd in a 100-year-old industrial building The non-profit saved 5 Channel Center from demolition last year. It completed a $26M, 50k SF redevelopment  in Q4. The aim: use its own building as a “living lab” to help society transition to sustainable energy sources by focusing on new technologies. The elevator—self-supported and run by a gearless motor—is “regenerative,” converting energy that might be lost into electricity, he says. So while some building owners may dread filling out the city’s new energy report card, Fraunhofer is relishing the prospect.

The Center’s 45 researchers—mechanical, physical, civil and electrical engineers, and behavioral scientists—installed LED lighting in their HQ that can turn colors, says director of building energy Kurt Roth. The lighting can reduce energy consumption and enhance the quality of the environment. Make it red, orange, and yellow to create a warm ambiance; readjust to blue and purple for a cooler feel. The slatted panels above his head are “chilled sails.” They provide passive radiant cooling, using water to cool more efficiently than conventional air-based systems, Kurt tells us.

It’s especially challenging to fit new technologies—like the radiant heating and cooling (revealed in the floor above)—into old buildings, Fellow Anne Williams says. While radiant technology isn’t revolutionary, it can be costly. But the applied research at Fraunhofer aims to cut some of the expense and technological risk. Monitoring and diagnostic systems keep tabs on how each element is performing and interacting with the others. That information helps the manufacturers that make the products, and the engineers and architects who wish to use them.

Building Energy technology Fellow Natasha Terpstra is holding a vacuum insulated panel (VIP) used to insulate buildings. (If this walls could talk... we wouldn't be able to hear, since sound can't travel in a vacuum.) Its attraction: It retains 10 times more heat than many traditional types of insulation but is much thinner—one inch versus six inches. Dow Corning is developing the product. In assessing how 5 Channel Center is performing for Boston’s energy report card, Christian says there’s a good chance it will hit its 50% energy savings goal by the May reporting date, or by Q4 after one year of operation.