A learning center affiliated with Kansas State University has renovated its solar facility to serve as a regional demonstration of passive and active solar technologies.
UFM Community Learning Center, 1221 Thurston St., Manhattan, undertook the renovation with a grant from the Caroline F. Peine Foundation. UFM is a nonprofit campus and community education program serving K-State, the Manhattan area and communities across Kansas.
"We started the renovation project a little over a year ago and we've upgraded everything to make the building even more energy efficient," said Linda Inlow Teener, executive director of UFM. "The building was created in 1980 and much of it had started to age and was in need of replacing. Our goal in this process was to update an existing building and to demonstrate passive and active solar energy. This will help us to begin the process of educating others. We were willing to blaze that trail."
Many activities associated with solar and wind energy, as well as energy conservation and recycling, are planned to accompany the building renovation. K-Staters from across the campus helped in developing the new design for the facility.
The UFM solar addition was designed as a multipurpose facility providing a highly visible, publicly accessible demonstration of low cost, effective ways to use renewable energy sources for space heating and food production in a realistic setting. The more than 1,400-square-foot structure is adjacent to the center's main building, just east of the K-State campus. It was designed to have nearly all of its heating needs met through the use of solar energy.
The solar addition has a greenhouse and a lounge/meeting room with a sink and counter area. With assistance from the Manhattan Community Foundation, a room originally used as a woodshop has been converted into a second classroom for UFM activities.
The south wall of the building features a moveable bead wall system. The wall, that has polystyrene beads between two layers of KalWall Plexiglas, provides moveable insulation. It can be opened for maximum sun and solar energy during the winter, and then closed to hold in the sun's heat accumulated during the day. During the summer, the wall is closed to keep out the hot sun and keep in natural cooling designed into the facility.
"There have been days where it was negative 10 degrees outside, but the inside of the building remained around 55 degrees — without the help of an additional heating source," Teener said. "It really has good insulating value."
The new photovoltaic array, under construction between the solar addition and the main UFM building, will include 15 interconnected solar panels mounted to an aluminum frame. The cells will collect energy from the sun and convert it into 220-volt electricity through an electrical inverter. The inverter feeds electricity into UFM's electrical wiring system, and any excess energy will flow into Westar Energy's electrical grid. This is the first small system in Kansas that will be connected to the grid. The project is scheduled to be complete this summer.
"I hope this project interests people and prompts them into looking at alternative energy sources," Teener said. "I want people to take advantage of the tours we offer of UFM and the educational opportunities this building provides. There are simple thing that people can do in a house to make it more energy efficient, and we hope to be able to give practical advice for people looking to take the next steps in energy efficiency through our experience."
K-Staters who helped UFM with the new design include Gary Coates, professor of architecture; R. Todd Gabbard, assistant professor of architecture; Ruth Douglas Miller, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering; Bruce Snead, instructor for the Kansas Industrial Extension Service; and Kim Williams, professor of horticulture, forestry and recreation resources. Also assisting was Brad Lutz, senior in electrical engineering, Andover.
More information about the UFM solar addition and classes on solar energy and environmental awareness is available at http://www.tryufm.org