Cedar Falls High School: The Process

Located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, the new Cedar Falls High School is a cutting-edge facility designed to meet the demands of 21st-century education. Accommodating 1,400 students, this $89.6 million, 366,615-square-foot development provides innovative spaces for academic and extracurricular activities. The project, designed by INVISION and scheduled for completion in Fall 2024, sets a new standard for educational environments, seamlessly blending functionality, sustainability, and community engagement.

MODUS: MEP Design for Cedar Falls High School

At MODUS, we believe that modern educational facilities demand modern engineering solutions. As the lead mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) engineer for Cedar Falls High School, our team played a critical role in delivering systems that enhance comfort, sustainability, and functionality.

State-of-the-Art Mechanical Systems

Truly sustainable designs incorporate multiple sources of renewable energy. This includes geothermal heating and cooling and photovoltaic energy, as key elements for reducing a facility’s carbon footprint. MODUS engineering has experience in the design and application of these services and currently has several projects under design using this technology.

The heart of our MEP design lies in the building’s HVAC systems. Our goal was to create an environment with optimal indoor air quality and thermal comfort while minimizing energy consumption. Key features include:

• Dual Wheel Energy Recovery Ventilators:
  These systems capture and reuse energy from exhausted air, reducing heating and cooling loads along with passive dehumidification for optimal humidity control for the chilled beam system.
• High-Efficiency Heat Recovery Chiller/Heaters and Chilled Beams:
  These technologies work together to provide consistent and energy-efficient heating, cooling, and ventilation, contributing to the project’s sustainability goals.
• Source Geothermal System:
  Utilizing three well supply and three injection wells, each with a capacity of 1,000 gallons per minute (GPM), this unique system delivers energy-efficient heating and cooling across the facility.

Sustainable Electrical Design

Our electrical engineering focused on delivering an efficient and reliable power infrastructure to support the high school’s diverse needs. We designed systems that power:

• Energy-Efficient LED Lighting:
  Linear, recessed, and 2×2 fixtures are integrated with automated controls for maximum energy savings and comfort.
• Energy Usage Monitoring
  The main and distribution panels for each area of the building were equipped with an energy monitor that ties to a energy management software system within the building to identify areas that are using more energy than others. This can be used as a learning tool for students to understand the energy usage of the different areas of the building and provoke thoughts on how to attempt to reduce consumption as the occupants.
• Solar Energy Readiness:
  With four acres identified for future ground-mounted solar energy production as well as roof mounted solar, the school is primed to reduce its environmental footprint even further.

Plumbing Systems for Efficiency and Reliability

Water conservation and functionality were central to our plumbing design. Highlights include:

• Low-Flow Fixtures:
  These reduce water consumption without compromising performance.
• Decoupled Domestic Water Heating:
  Most schools use a single central water heating plant with distributed water piping. Our philosophy when designing the domestic hot water for this large project was to reduce energy loss by reducing the distance from the source to the fixture, reduce the amount of copper water piping, and reduce time to deliver hot water to plumbing fixtures for the occupants. This was accomplished by using smaller water heating plants in the different areas of the building.