New Standards for Classroom Comfort

Energy Efficiency, Integrated Control Technology are a Breath of Fresh Air for HVAC Systems

More than 53 million children and 6 million adults spend a portion of their day inside a school building, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Yet, a significant number of students and teachers struggle with classroom discomforts or distractions, including noise, glare, mildew, lack of fresh air, and hot or cold temperatures. Any or all of these issues may impact an educator’s ability to teach and a student’s ability to concentrate and learn.

School officials seeking to ensure classroom comfort must balance the design and implementation of solutions against the continuing need to slash operational costs, curtail escalating energy expenditures, and the shrinking availability of budgetary resources for new capital investments.

Sustainable Building

Through the combination of more efficient technology and adoption of green building guidelines, officials can be responsible to both the classroom and the environment, receive a payback on their investments, and achieve their operating goals while improving teacher and student comfort, productivity and performance.

Green building strategies outlined in the new LEED for Schools rating system, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, address the design, construction and modernization of K-12 school buildings. LEED provides measurable criteria for building healthy, high-performance schools with a specific focus on children’s health, school site issues, and educational spaces.

Issues relating to the energy efficiency and indoor air quality impacts of HVAC systems are significant elements within LEED. Nearly two-thirds of the points needed to earn LEED certification deal with these areas.

School districts can save 30 percent to 40 percent on utility costs each year for new schools, and 20 percent to 30 percent on renovated schools by applying sustainable, high performance, energy-efficient design and construction concepts to improve classroom comfort, according to the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council.

Integration

Creating a high performance, comfortable classroom environment requires an integrated approach between sustainable design and construction standards, and the corresponding selection, implementation and ongoing maintenance and operation of building control systems and technologies.

Properly designed, installed and maintained energy-efficient HVAC products, systems and services can help keep operating costs low and provide an environmentally responsible solution.

New technologies, such as Web-based facility management systems, are beneficial because they can connect building systems and provide a common view of energy use patterns in multiple schools throughout a district. Web-based building automation systems enable better decision-making and provide improved performance and easy integration. Such systems help school officials manage critical factors, including indoor air quality, acoustics and energy efficiency to create high performance classrooms.

New developments in open control systems, or non-proprietary, server-based building automation systems provide increased flexibility and tighter energy management. Open control systems can be integrated into an existing local area network to streamline a district’s approach to energy management.

Technology

Today’s HVAC systems combine energy-efficient technology, service, and controls for systemwide control and monitoring, which will deliver a higher Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio.

Best-in-class solutions will serve the need of a single classroom while they are controlled centrally through a single controller. They will offer high-efficiency air filtration options to bring in fresh air from the outside for proper ventilation and improve indoor air quality. They will include humidity control options for humidity-sensitive areas of schools, such as libraries and computer rooms. The best solutions will also employ systemwide monitoring and controls to save additional energy by allowing operators to program and set the system during peak use and downtime.

Combining these new standards in technology with a service contract will help to ensure that systems continue to deliver promised performance, humidity control and energy savings while maintaining an improved level of classroom comfort year-round.

Increasing Efficiency

Improving the efficiency of an HVAC system is one of the easiest ways for schools to make buildings more energy-efficient, reduce costs and improve the learning environment. These tips can help:

• Use a life cycle cost analysis, rather than initial costs, to compare the long-term cost of owning and operating an HVAC system. In many cases, the first-cost premium for energy-efficient equipment will be paid back through reduced operating costs in the first year or two;
  
• At startup, carefully inspect the entire air distribution path for leakage and plug all air leaks. Once in operation, recheck the system for leaks annually;
  
• Ensure the HVAC system is thoroughly commissioned prior to occupancy to assure that it operates as the designer intended;
  
• Check room thermostats for proper set point, operation and calibration at least twice per year, or utilize programmable thermostats for added efficiency;
  
• Make sure that air openings of HVAC systems are free of obstructions that can starve the affected space of ventilation air and create an unbalanced condition for the entire fan system;
  
• Ensure that building operating and maintenance personnel receive proper training, including refresher courses, to use central energy management or building automation systems effectively;
  
• Inspect and maintain air filters as specified by the equipment manufacturer. Optimally, they should be replaced every three to six months;
  
• Review ventilation set points periodically to assure they match the current occupancy and usage codes of the room;
  
• Utilize service contracts to ensure that building systems perform year-round at promised, optimum efficiency levels; and
  
• Participate in state programs that rebate capital investments made in energy-efficient equipment.

Maureen Lally is the institutional markets director at Trane.