QC-06-030 - Case Study on the Energy Performance of the Zuckerman Institute for Connective Environmental Research (ZICER) Building PDF

In the early 1990s, the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK, established a low-energy policy toward building design. In 1994, the first energy-efficient educational building was constructed on campus—the Elizabeth Fry building, which utilizes a hollow core ventilation system. Independent reviews at the time demonstrated that this was one of the best energy performing buildings in the UK. Several additional educational buildings of similar design have been built on campus, one of which is the Zuckerman Institute for Environmental Connective Research (ZICER) building, completed in 2003. The construction of the ZICER building is unusual. The main building envelope is served by a hollow core ventilation system, high in thermal mass, highly insulated and airtight, but on the opposite spectrum, a light weight, highly glazed structure made up of photovoltaic cells was added onto the building to make up the “Top Floor,” home to an exhibition area and seminar room. This paper investigates the energy performance from the ZICER building’s long-term submonitoring results and explains how the heating and cooling strategies evolved to meet half the building’s energy consumption.