COLLEGE & RESEARCH LIBRARIES NEWS

An Experiment in Solar Design at San Jose State University

Association of College & Research Libraries

Jeff Paul Media Services Department San Jose State University

Dedication ceremonies for the new “solar” Robert D. Clark Library at San Jose State University took place on February 19, 1982. The Library is the first structure in the 18 campus California State University System to incorporate a natural energy system.

The five-story, 125,000-square foot building was designed by Pflueger Architects of San Francisco. Plans for a new library facility at SJSU have been developed and scrapped several times over the past 15 years. Original plans for a nine-story library became plans for an 18-story highrise which was then whittled to twelve stories. Because of inflation, budgetary cutbacks, and high costs for labor and construction materials, only a five-story building was ultimately approved. Neither of the existing libraries at SJSU is large enough to house all campus library collections. The Clark Library doubled the amount of space available for campus library resources and services.

The $13 million structure was dedicated in honor of Robert Clark, the University’s 18th President. Clark directed the campus master plan in the late 1960s and he was the first to propose the new central library, calling it the “heart of the campus.” Funds for the structure were appropriated in 1969 but they were recalled the following year. Ten years passed before funds were again available. Construction began in 1979 and the building was completed in November of 1981.

The Clark Library is unique in that it is totally dependent on solar heating and cooling for internal climate control. The building’s solar heating and cooling system was designed to function as a solarassisted system that would be connected to a conventional heating and cooling plant. However, because of cost considerations the backup connection was deleted by the California Department of Finance. In essence, the university was offered a choice between a library without backup support or no library at all. Campus administrators who had been frustrated with over a decade of delays regarding the facility finally decided to accept the proposal hoping to be able to get the backup some time in the future.

Ideally, the natural energy design for heating and cooling is expected to keep the building between 68 and 78 degrees. The temperature in the building was expected to fall within this range 80 % of the time even without the backup system. The facility has massive concrete walls and mirrored windows to minimize heat gain and loss. The concrete works like a sponge to retain heat and minimize thermal changes.

Heating is generated by 147 solar collector panels mounted in three rows on the south side of the building. Water heated by the sun’s rays is pumped through the collectors to an insulated 12,000- gallon hot water tank in the basement. There fans draw circulating air over hot water pipes to heat the building. The heating system was designed to have a five-day reserve capacity. It should be able to retain heat for up to five completely overcast days.

The cooling system utilizes four 30,000-gallon reservoirs in the basement to cool the air. Water is pumped from these tanks through a cooling tower. This is done in the evening when night air aids the cooling process. There fans draw circulating air over the cool water pipes. Windows are also opened at night to help cool the air in the building.

The heating and cooling systems have both had their share of problems to date. The cooling system was operational three full days in the early summer before it went down. Insulation lining the walls of the reservoirs has broken up and permeated the entire system. The solar panels will have to be flushed to remove the bits of insulation from the system. The reservoirs were also drained and relined with new insulation. During the summer it was not unusual for the temperature in work areas to exceed 82 to 84 degrees. Fortunately the summer was moderate due to volcanic eruptions, good luck, and the Bay Area’s generally cool climate.

Heating was a general concern when the building was occupied in January. Apparently the heating process takes a good deal of time in a new facility and the concrete had not been allowed a sufficient amount of time to warm up. During the move into the building it was not unusual for the internal temperature to drop below 60 degrees. This was especially true on the lower floors and in offices on the north side of the building.

SJSU administrators are seeking funds to connect the Clark Library to the campus heating and cooling plant. Current cost estimates for this connection range around $200,000. The damage to books and other resources exposed to dramatic fluctuations in temperature over an extended period of time would greatly exceed this sum.

The Clark Library serves as the main undergraduate library in a two-building operation. Resources are divided by high use/low use and by date between the libraries. Frequently used books and books published from 1970 to date are located in the Clark Library. The Clark Library also houses most public service departments and periodicals published from 1965 to present. Older, less used, and more scholarly materials are located in the John T. Wahlquist Library. University Librarian

Maureen Pastine devised the high use/low use plan for dividing the collections. The plan was approved by the SJSU Academic Senate before it was implemented. ■■