“Green” Design — Transmitter Site Energy Efficiency Features
KMUW is working toward a sustainable and green approach for its new transmitter building. We feel it not only is the right thing to do, but it will also help us keep our costs down in the future as energy prices rise. We are looking at methods that will reduce our energy usage as well as the materials being used in construction and the embodied energy it took to create them.
“Green” Technique Descriptions
- A concrete foundation partially composed of fly ash, a waste product that comes from coal power plants. This type of concrete uses fly ash to replace 20 to 35 percent of the concrete normally required, and it is stronger than traditional concrete. In addition, reducing the amount of concrete – which has a high embodied energy – saves on emissions. http://www.greenbuilder.com/sourcebook/Flyash.html
- Structural walls made with Agriboard, which is highly compressed wheat straw and engineered wood. Agriboard has a long list of government certifications, including the ability to withstand an F5 tornado. http://www.agriboard.com/
- Outside wall sheathing made of partially recycled metal panels, which are recyclable at the end of their life. The metal also helps reflect the sun’s heat away from the building’s interior.
- A modular green living roof that would be placed on a concrete and membrane substrate. The green roof adds several benefits, such as aiding the cooling of the of the building, absorbing UV rays that normally damage roof substrates, holding rain water to reduce storm runoff, and acting as a natural ice shield to absorb ice impacts from the tower. Plants on the roof would be native succulents that would require little watering. http://www.greengridroofs.com/
- Geoexchange/Geothermal cooling, which takes advantage of the constant temperature at the bottom of a nearby pond to improve cooling efficiency. Known to save 30 to 50 percent on energy costs, geothermal cooling will be the primary cooling system. A traditional air conditioner will help cover the additional demand in the summer, and will be used during maintenance of the geothermal system. Transmitters require cooling year round, not just in the summer, so an efficient cooling system is critical to our energy saving plan. http://www.geoexchange.org/
- A diesel backup generator, which can accept 5 percent biodiesel. The generator is used to keep us on the air during grid power interruptions. So far there isn’t a generator available that will run on a higher percentage of biodiesel.
- Harris Split Level combined HD Radio™ transmission system. This system not only uses less energy than a typical HD Radio™ system, it creates less heat, which reduces HVAC demand. While it’s necessary to add energy usage to support HD Radio™, KMUW is trying to add as little energy as possible.
- Possible use of wind energy credits to offset KMUW’s remaining carbon impact. Kansas ranks third in the nation as far as wind energy production potential. Using wind energy credits helps support Kansas energy companies develop additional wind and other alternative energy sources.
