| University of Northern Iowa | About CEEE | Calendar | Contact | Directions |
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CEEE Guided Tour (future home of "Green Bldg Presentation and Tour")
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 CEEE was established for the purpose of promoting greater understanding and awareness about issues related to energy and the environment. We serve communities, state government, the university, K-12 students, current and future educators, churches, utilities, and small businesses. We offer energy policy analysis and advice, and support other like-minded groups that promote energy efficiency and renewable sources of energy. Our projects, particulary, focused on issues related to energy use, land use and agriculture, and material flows (wastes, recycling, etc.). Through these programs we encourage communities to adopt measures that will ultimately serve their best own interests. Adoption of energy efficiency at the community level saves money, increases expendable dollars invested in the community, and reduces emissions of numerous pollutants. Establishing markets for locally grown food increases farmers' profits, and provides citizens with more choices in the kinds of food they consume and how their food is grown and packaged. Reducing pesticide use in city parks by 50 percent through programs in integrated pest management not only saves money, it also helps to safeguard our children, who at once experience the highest exposure to the pesticide and are the most sensitive to its impacts. The benefits accrued from a sustainable community extend far beyond its borders. A time honored adage among environmentalists concerned about the global environmental change is "Think globally and Act Locally". The implicit wisdom of this sample phrase is that global problems can only be solved by multitudinous actions conducted on the local scale, and that solutions to global problems must ultimately be solved locally through individual responsibility. With its strong emphasis on public education, the Center for Energy and Environmental Education at the University of Northern Iowa is uniquely poised in the state of Iowa to provide the "act locally" part of global environmental strategies. Supporting programs to address these and other related issues is the mission of our Center, but we cannot do this alone. We need a network of like-minded collaborators all working toward a common goal. We strongly believe in organization synergism, and encourage all of you to contact us and explore ways on which we can achieve together the task of enhancing environmental awareness, responsibility, and action not only in Iowa, but well beyond its borders.
The mission of the center is to nurture a positive environmental ethic and to develop environmental literacy in children and adults. This mission is carried out through educational programming, instructional materials development, educational research, and community outreach.
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Windows are low-e, argon filled, with vinyl clad wood casings. A very important part of the solar design is daylighting in almost all interior spaces. A significant amount of the total energy savings come from this feature.
The Weidt Group used computer modeling against an efficient similarly sized building to determine the CEEE advantage. Overall, they project a 37% decrease in energy used. Perhaps just as important is the fact that primarily due to the daylighting, the peak kilowatt load is reduced by 64% from the reference. Because much of the increase in efficiency comes from a reduction in higher priced electricity that is needed, the cost savings for the CEEE are even higher than the 37% in total energy saved. Further limiting the overall energy impact of the facility is the fact the UNI co-generates much of its own electricity with a highly efficient and low emissions fluidized bed boiler.
Energy was not the only concern in the design of the CEEE. Building and finish materials were selected that need little or no care, both on the interior and exterior. Indoor air quality and off-gassing of materials were important considerations. Where possible, renewable materials such as wood were employed, and local sources of materials were sought to minimize transportation impacts. Use of natural and other low embodied energy materials was maximized within reasonable financial considerations. Construction cost of $104 per square foot is quite reasonable for academic buildings, especially those with the range of internal spaces (such as laboratories and an auditorium) present in theCEEE.