ABSTRACT 2010-2011

PROJECT TITLE: STUDY OF SCHOOL HVAC SYSTEM

The quality of our children’s education is directly connected to the quality of the classroom
environment. School officials, design engineers, architects and equipment manufacturers strive
to provide the best possible environment that encourages learning. Sound, temperature, humidity
and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) must all be balanced with a fiscally and environmentally
responsible solution.

The purpose of this project is to provide the design engineer with a variety of HVAC solutions
for classroom environments. Issues such as IAQ, energy efficiency, sound, complexity,
serviceability, first cost and operating cost will all be covered.

Elementary schools generally consist of approximately 10 to 15 classrooms, an administration

area, a gymnasium and a library. Elementary schools are used throughout the school season, but
little use in the summer. They are generally occupied from 7:00 am to 3:00 p.m.

A trend in elementary schools is to include science classrooms which require special

consideration in design. Another popular trend is to attach a day care center to elementary
schools. In most cases, the day care centers are operated as a stand-alone facility and they
require their own HVAC system. Middle schools are larger than elementary schools. In addition
to the facilities found in elementary schools, middle schools also have computer classrooms and
locker rooms.

Middle schools are open longer during the day than elementary schools due to extracurricular
activities. High schools can also include cafeterias, natatoriums, skating rinks, industrial shops,
home economics rooms, stores and auto repair shops. Like middle schools, high schools are
open longer during the day. In addition, high schools are often used in the summer, either for
summer school or to make use of their special facilities (gymnasiums, natatoriums, shop
facilities, etc).

Colleges and technical schools are similar to high schools. They have similar facilities and are
used year round. Night school programs extend the operating hours into the weekday evenings.

Many trends have emerged in recent years, including a return to neighborhood schools and
longer school years. Improved building design has made modern schools more airtight. These
issues affect the decision making process for HVAC design.