Details on Field Study Evaluation of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Options for Advanced Relocatable Classrooms (RCs)

Year-one efforts for this task can be broken down into several broad project categories as follows:

Recruit one or more school district(s) in California and a large manufacturer of RCs to collaborate in construction of high-performance commercial building system (HPCBS) RCs
We located Northern California RC manufacturers with the intention of developing a working relationship that would lead to referrals to school districts (SDs) with RCs on order for delivery in the summer of 2001. We contacted five RC manufacturers in Northern California and three in Southern California, first by mail and then by telephone. We visited five RC manufacturers and described in the Element 6 project's goals and plans. Four of the manufacturers expressed interest in participating in the study; three were located in the northern Central Valley. Three manufacturers supplied lists of Northern California SDs from whom they had RC orders.

From the SD lists we were able to find target districts with cooling and heating demands suited to our studies. We selected two areas that would provide varied performance data for the RCs, based on climate. These were the Central San Joaquin Valley and the Bay Area Transition Zone. We wrote letters to all school facilities managers of the SDs on the manufacturers lists and received favorable responses from four candidate school districts. One RC manufacturer, American Modular Systems (AMS), had willing SD clients that suited our climate needs. These SDs were Modesto City Schools (MCS) and Cupertino Union School District (CUSD). Both SDs expressed willingness to participate in the study, and, in response to visits by LBNL staff, each provided for the study a primary school with RCs on order from AMS for K-3 classes.

Specify and design a high-performance HVAC system for use in the HPCBS RCs The Indirect/Direct Evaporative Cooler (IDEC) with hydronic gas heat was selected as the HVAC option to be used in the RC study. The rationale for this selection is the subject of previous Quarterly Progress Report for this element and a deliverable submitted on 7/14/01. Some discussion of the selection is presented in the Year 1 Year End Report for 6.2.1. Specify energy-efficiency components of the HPCBS RCs The HPCBS RC energy-efficiency specifications were based upon the Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) Premium Efficient Relocatable Classroom specifications developed by Davis Energy Group (DEG) (2000). Additions include a "Cool Roof" (AB 970) white roof acrylic elastomeric paint treatment and an energy-efficient gas-fueled hydronic heating system. Contact: Michael Apte, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), (510) 486-4669