Our building is green
The Micron Business and Economics Building was designed to an energy use standard that was nearly 50 percent better than the energy code requirements at the time our building was built. This building is a model of environment stewardship and sustainability.
Scroll to read about the many green elements of the Micron Business and Economics Building.
Warm and cool — responsibly
Inside the Micron Business and Economics Building technology and automation help save on energy. All the heating, ventilating and cooling (HVAC) systems and lighting in the building are controlled and monitored by an automation system. The system resets temperatures and turns off lights during unoccupied and standby modes and adjusts the central heating and cooling for maximum efficiency.
Some of the technologically advanced equipment that keeps our HVAC highly efficient are:
A frictionless, water-cooled chiller uses magnetic bearing technology which eliminates friction and increases the overall efficiency of the cooling system and eliminates noise. Magnetic bearings do not require oil which reduces the maintenance and eliminates hazardous waste oil.
Variable speed pumps and fans are adjusted to match the building’s heating and cooling loads providing significant energy savings.
An active chilled beam induces room air through a heating and cooling coil to temper the space. This technology transfers less efficient air delivery to more efficient water delivery systems which results in a 75-80 percent fan energy savings and lowers the overall energy consumption of the building. In addition, the active chilled beams use warmer chilled water temperatures which allows the use of the free-cooling water- side economizer for more hours in a typical year. A chilled beam also uses lower heated water temperatures which reduces the amount of geothermal water the building requires.
Energy recovery ventilation takes the energy from normally exhausted air of a building and uses it to precondition the incoming outdoor ventilation air to either cool warm air or warm cool air. The energy recovery system reduces the size of the central heating and cooling systems needed and reduces the overall energy use of the building.
Our ventilation system also filters contaminants, pollutants, allergens, pollen, and more, helping to ensure that the air that enters clean and healthy.
Geothermal heating
Our building is heated with 165°F water from the City of Boise’s geothermal hot water system (the largest in the country). By using this natural resource we eliminate more than 90 percent of the annual natural gas use. The heat in the water not used for heating the building – basically free heat – is used to melt snow on the main entries and courtyard.