CASE STUDY Voyageur Elementary School

BY SUSAN SAMSON

INFRA-RED
SPELLS COMFORT
AND SAVINGS
Rod Grimm, manager of operations for the Quesnel school district
in British Columbia, knew he was onto something when a one-room infra-
red heating retrofit at a
high school turned the Time for Change
school’s least favorite A 35 year-old structure, Voyageur
Elementary school was due for
basement classroom into
some comfort and IAQ upgrades.
its most sought after
The existing heating system
space. It wasn’t the relied on a variety of equipment,
teacher that was suddenly including a 12-zone system using
so popular - it was the an old gas-fired furnace that was
long overdue for replacement.
heat! What was once a dank, cold classroom had become toasty warm and
With the exception of just a few
welcoming. high efficiency furnaces which
had been added over the years,
Following this and a couple of other small retrofits in other Quesnel
most of the school relied on old,
schools, Grimm was eager to apply infra-red heaters to an entire facility, so inefficient equipment.
when funds became available to upgrade the aging heating system at Teacher complaints about the
Voyageur Elementary, he had infra-red on his mind. heating were commonplace.
Fresh, make-up air was imparted
Low clearances and two-stage burners were key factors in his search for the old fashioned way - through
products. With a classroom ceiling height of nine feet, the school needed an the opening and closing of
infra-red heater with a clearance of 32 inches. And since Voyageur would exterior doors. Needless to say,
Voyageur had some catching up
also be adding a new ventilation system that would increase the school’s
to do to bring it up to 21st
heating load, two-stage heaters were appealing since they allow for a quick century standards. The question
recovery at high-fire and an economical, steady operation at low-fire. was could it be done without
major increases to utility cost.
A total of seven existing furnaces were removed from the school, including
four high-efficiency units, a multi-zone furnace (used for classroom, office
and library heating), one large down-flow furnace that heated the gym, and

72 M e c h a n i c a l B u s i n e s s 1 0 . 0 9
 • It’s all about comfort in schools

Comfort
&
IAQ for Less
Installation of the infra-red heaters was completed
before school started in September 2008, in time for
what would become one of the coldest B.C. winters in
recent years. The heat
recovery ventilators
THE HEATERS one high-efficiency furnace
were up and running
Qty Model Rate BTU/Hr Length Location used for the kindergarten
by January 2009.
High Low spaces.

Remarkably, Voyageur 6 LMA 60,000 40,000 30 ft. Classrooms

Much of the existing
Elementary has seen a 2 LMA 40,000 30,000 30 ft. Library
ductwork was left in place.
decrease in both 4 LMA 60,000 40,000 30 ft. Classrooms
This would provide the
electrical and gas 4 LMA 60,000 40,000 30 ft. Gym
framework for heat recovery
consumption since the 1 LMA 80,000 60,000 40 ft. Kindergarten
ventilation in the classrooms,
new system was 1 TA 40,000 30,000 15 ft. Main Entrance
gym, office and staff areas.
installed. This is
With the exception of the
despite the increase in load due to the new ventilation
office and staff room locations, there was no
system, a higher number of heating degree days in
2008/2009, and an increase in the average price of post heat in any of heat recovery units.
natural gas. A total of 18 natural gas fired infra-red tube
heaters were installed to replace the existing
Just as important, comfort is way up at this older school
furnaces. These heaters, all of which were two
where teachers and students have had to contend with
stage, would become the sole source of heat for
drafty or overly heated rooms for many years. And since
their associated spaces. The only exception to
the system requires no morning warm-up cycle, heat is
practically instantaneous. this was the post heat which was applied to the
heat recovery unit for the office and staff areas.
“We found that the kids and teachers just love it,” said Thus, the primary source of heat for the entire
Grimm, adding that the improved comfort has enabled school would be infra-red heaters.
them to actually lower the set points in most rooms to a
degree or two below what had been normal. A DDC
system at the elementary school allows him to observe
system activity at all times and has shown that
temperatures are being maintained to within as close as
Susan Samson is the Marketing Specialist with
1/10 a degree. Superior Radiant Products. She can be reached at
ssamson@superiorradiant.com.

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