Indoor air testing was conducted last October at the recently opened Endeavor Elementary School and the results were clear. If you can clean indoor air effectively, you can reduce outside air requirements and save money in the process. 

Last year, Endeavor was looking at the possibility of using a heat recovery system in order to save money on operating costs because it was going to be costly to condition outside air at a 15 cfm per person minimum requirement. Dynamic Region Manager Paul Pickering used the Dynamic AirQ™ Program to calculate lower cfm requirements. The program utilizes the ASHRAE Standard 62 IAQ Procedure and the Ventilation Rate Procedure, a prescriptive method of determining outside air requirements by concentrating on controlling the contaminants of concern within a space. The result was a reduction in the outside air requirement of almost 60% which translated to roughly $30,000 on the capital investment. 

The school used Dynamic 1" V-Bank air cleaners which were factory-installed in Trane M-Series Climate Changers. The air was tested a month after the school opened to confirm air quality. An Aircuity Optima™ monitor was used to measure indoor particulate counts in several size ranges, CO, humidity and total VOCs. The indoor data was then compared to outdoor conditions. The tests confirmed that indoor air was as clean as it would have been, had outside air been brought in at 15 cfm per person, scoring 100 out of a possible 100 on the Aircuity Air Cleanliness Index.

Bob Fischer is the Director of Buildings and Grounds for the Lakota School District where Endeavor is located. "The air inside the school is excellent and we have seen reduced operating costs as planned," says Bob. "I have recommended the same equipment for two other schools in the district."