This month’s Facility File will focus on the B2B April test for an HVAC application within a high school facility, with the existing field house HVAC system being retrofitted to serve as an emergency shelter building with its associated locker rooms and toilet facilities.
It is not uncommon for a school building to also serve as a safe place during a crisis such as a tornado or hurricane. It would be very beneficial for the school department and town/school building department, along with the rest of the IPD (integrated project delivery) team, to read the FEMA Risk Management Series Design Guidance for Shelters and Safe Rooms (May 2006) pertaining to design guidelines for shelters for people. The town/school facility group should also read the 2015 ASHRAE Handbook Applications chapters 36 through 43, addressing building operations and management to assist in preparing for the temporary addition of chilled water cooling. This information combined with the school’s own knowledge of operating the existing field house four central AHUs will help the IPD team in understanding intricacies of operation when the temporary HVAC rental equipment arrives on site