Northern Light Center - Green Building Design Elements (Designed and built by Erik Schulze)
- Nearly square in shape (42x35 feet) to minimize exterior surface area (to reduce heat loss in the winter and heat gain in the summer)
- Placed on an insulated concrete floor to provide a large thermal mass to absorb and store solar energy.
- Large windows on the south side of the building to increase solar-gain in the winter
- Minimal number of windows on the north side of the building to reduce heat loss in the winter
- Local wood used for the siding, trim, cabnets and interior window sills.
- Double pane/argon filled windows
- Energy efficient appliances
- 14 inch walls with offset studs to avoid thermal bridging
- Walls and ceilings insulated with recycled cellulose (ground up newspapers) providing the walls with an R-value of 45 and the ceiling with an R-value of 65!
- No-VOC paints used throughout
- Non-toxic, water-based stains (from Bioshield) used on exterior siding
- Non-toxic finishing oil used on interior doors and trim
- High-efficiency propane boiler used to provide in-floor radiant heat
- Air-to Air heat exchange used to recover heat from the ventilation system
- Cork flooring used throughout (cork is a renewable resource that does not kill the trees it comes from)
- Yoga blankets made from 100% recycled fibers
- Yoga blocks made from cork
- Compact florescent-lights used throughout the studio for lighting
- Coming soon: Solar panels with a grid-tie interface system to provide the majority of the studio’s electrical needs