Dearing Elementary School was one of the first zero energy ready schools built in Central Texas. The 93,376-sq-ft, two-story building uses geothermal heat for both electricity and heating and is equipped with LED lights throughout.
The design incorporates insulated concrete form exterior walls. Some of the many advantages of building with these types of walls over conventional wood-frame construction are low air filtration, high thermal mass, high strength and fire resistance, good sound-deadening ability and much higher insulating values than standard masonry construction.