The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has released a guide for educators, administrators, and school districts on indoor air quality.
The guide can be used as a tool to discuss options to improve indoor air quality based on existing HVAC equipment, regional objectives, and available funding. ASHRAE advises decision-makers to compile a group of internal professionals such as administrators, facilities maintenance personnel and planners, and to bring in specialists from outside the organization, including consultants and certified ventilation experts.
This guide presents some prerequisites for what decision-makers should understand before they start an evaluation process. It also presents a defined rubric to score their environment to see if it meets the base minimums. It recommends tasks to complete, including high and very high priority tasks, to make improvements.
After an assessment is performed, educators meet with a design professional to assess their system and determine their needs. They can use the guide for simple tasks, such as determining temperature and weather conditions to open windows; calculating which air filters to use; learning when to open and close dampers due to outdoor air quality; and planning placement and proper use of carbon dioxide (CO2) sensors, air cleaners and UV-C, or ultraviolet light, in classrooms. A ventilation professional can help determine if these fixes are enough, or if upgrades or repairs to the HVAC system are warranted.
Related Stories
K-12 Schools | Jun 5, 2017
PK-8 school will be Denver’s first CHPS-certified building
A “learning stair” will connect the cafeteria to the main level.
K-12 Schools | May 31, 2017
NAC Architecture rolls out ‘Hack Your Classroom’ campaign
In collaboration with room2learn, NAC launched a campaign aimed at crowd-sourcing information on what teachers are doing in their classroom to improve the learning experience.
K-12 Schools | May 16, 2017
The future of schools: Net zero should be the norm
Students are helping drive change by focusing on the future.
K-12 Schools | May 1, 2017
Seattle’s first vertically-oriented middle school breaks ground
The building will provide 74,289 sf of space across its five-story classroom bar.
K-12 Schools | Apr 21, 2017
The stadium effect
School districts that invested in their athletic facilities over the last few years have seen a tremendous increase in student morale and health, growth in campus culture, and excitement within their communities.
K-12 Schools | Apr 7, 2017
Is an alternative project delivery method right for your K-12 school district?
With California’s increasingly busy—and costly—construction market, it’s becoming more difficult to predict costs with a typical design-bid-build delivery method.
K-12 Schools | Mar 9, 2017
The future of education facilities: Creating spaces where learning happens everywhere
The art of designing schools lies not in just understanding what makes a functional classroom, but in how successful we are in creating a wide array of educational options for teachers and students within the school environment.
K-12 Schools | Mar 9, 2017
School branding: The impact on identity and engagement
What is school branding and why is it important? HMC Architects’ James Krueger and Barbara Perez weigh in on the topic.
K-12 Schools | Feb 22, 2017
Through the principal's eyes: A look at K-12 architecture
Anderson-Livsey is a K-5 school located about 30 minutes East of Atlanta in Gwinnett County and has an enrollment of 785 students.
K-12 Schools | Feb 8, 2017
'Fabrication Hall' introduces Wyoming high school students to career paths
The hall offers bountiful natural light with enough space to build large-scale projects.
