Overby-Sheppard Elementary in Richmond, Virginia, needed more than an HVAC upgrade, but with tight budgets and minimal state funding, it didn’t seem likely. The 40-year-old building needed a full overhaul to provide students with a healthier, distraction-free environment.

Dust collectors are used to capture, convey, and collect dust for a wide variety of manufacturing and industrial processes. Whether involving wood, plastic, metal, or chemical dust particles, this is done to improve safety by reducing fire, explosion, and dust inhalation hazards.

Johns Manville has released a fiberglass duct wrap with an installed thermal resistivity rating of R-12.

The natural world can help guide duct sizing, airflow, and more.

DAP Products Inc. has expanded its product offerings with HVAC Silicone and High Temp Silicone. The new HVAC Silicone is for sealing around air conditioners, dampers, ductwork, furnaces, and vents.

According to Det-Tronics, its SmokeWatch™ U5015 uses advanced photoelectric smoke detection technology not generally available in an explosion-proof housing. The detector is rated for Class 1 Division 1, 2, and Zone 1 environments found in industrial applications. Used with the Q5016 Duct Mount Accessory, the detector can be installed on ductwork to meet NFPA 90A requirements for AHUs of more than 2,000 cfm.

A colleague of mine was the project manager on a commissioning project for a build-out at a five-story, 150,000-sq-ft laboratory building at a large university.

Clark County Public Schools in Kentucky has gained notoriety for its sustainable school designs.

How often has an AHU or system been reused as part of a building renovation project and/or to expand the area served by the associated unit to provide additional air conditioning or heating?

In last November’s Back2Basics, I created a test for the readers based on the idea that the patient room design was similar to a pharmaceutical cleanroom, with an air lock for people to enter and leave the room.