Schools benefit from Airxchange more than most buildings in the following ways:
- Schools have higher occupant densities than most buildings leading to higher building code requirements for outdoor air ventilation
- Higher outdoor air ventilation means a greater percentage of the hvac system is dedicated to treating outdoor air
- ERV can save up to 40% of HVAC operating cost and should have an instant payback for most school applications
Mandates ventilation in schools
For these reasons, the state of Ohio mandates the use of energy recovery ventilation in all of their schools. In their school design manual, the state of Ohio states: “Energy recovery shall be used as a part of the design for classroom, gymnasium, locker room, and student dining/auditorium systems in order to reduce the energy consumption required to provide the necessary outdoor ventilation rates. The energy recovery systems will require both sensible and latent heat recovery necessitating the use of desiccant heat wheels or the equivalent.”
Environmental protection agency
The EPA also provides extensive information regarding indoor air quality and use of energy recovery ventilation in schools.
As part of the design process, the EPA specifically recommends energy recovery in order to reduce by 2/3 the negative implications of outdoor air ventilation on an HVAC system.
The EPA also provides software to assist architects, engineers, school officials, and others in calculating the economics of energy recovery in schools.