Project Info
Elk Country Campus Outdoors Building
Pennsylvania has the largest herd of elk east of the Mississippi. These herds are an unforgettable sight for the more than 450,000 guests that visit the Elk Country Visitors Center each year. The Keystone Elk Country Alliance (KECA) worked with the WPPSEF to construct a 3,200 sq. ft. outdoor educational classroom (ECCO Building) at the Elk Country Visitor Center in Benezette, PA. The outdoor classroom was awarded LEED Gold Certification and is the only LEED facility in Pennsylvania that utilizes biomass as its heat source. The ECCO building is heated using a Froling FHG-30 high efficiency biomass wood boiler with a rated heat output of 102,500 Btu/hr. The biomass boiler system includes a 400-gallon thermal storage tank that will provide renewable heat for the classroom through an in-floor radiant heat system. The ECCO building is enclosed using state-of-the-art folding glass NanaWall technology, which provides year-round use of the facility. WPPSEF provided $625,000 to support this Elk Country Visitor Center expansion.
Impact
Biomass heated LEED certified building
Growing biomass awareness
Supports KECA wildlife conservation efforts
Hearing elk bugle inside ECCO – PRICELESS
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