Extreme Makeover: The Plainfield NH Elementary School - Self Study

This course was originally presented at BuildingEnergy Boston 2020, a conference presented by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA)

This small New Hampshire town was faced with a host of issues with its 35,000 sf school. Key areas included IAQ problems, lack of temperature control, obsolete HVAC equipment, and high energy bills. A small group of volunteers proposed a radical solution: take one classroom as a prototype, disconnect it from the central plant, super-insulate it, and install a cold climate heat pump and an ERV. The monitored success led to a step-by-step Deep Energy Retrofit of the school, the removal of all of the oil-fired plant and fuel storage, and ultimately a 155 kWDC solar electric array to power the school. This case study details the strategies and reports the results.

Professional credits (or CEUs, "continuing education units") are not available at this time; check back later for options to earn credits.

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Participants in this course will upon completion of this course, be able to:

• Know how to retrofit current technology HVAC systems into a building enclosure with severe spatial constraints (slab on grade construction, no attics, modest ceiling heights)
• Reduce heating loads with air-sealing and super-insulation insulation in a phased retrofit of a multi-zone building
• Use cold climate heat pumps to successfully heat an institutional building in a harsh climate that experiences temperatures as low as -25F
• Use a comprehensive approach to deliver excellent indoor air quality, comfort and durability throughout a phased retrofit of an existing building