Back-to-school season is in full swing and school leaders are already being reminded that their schools’ HVAC systems are not up to par. Some are likely already planning how they’ll update these systems—and with what equipment. RMI and UndauntedK12 joined forces to inform that decision-making with our 2023 report, HVAC Choices for Student Health and Learning: What Policymakers, School Leaders, and Advocates Need to Know. In this blog, I’ll cover a few key messages for K-12 leaders and the industry professionals expertly guiding HVAC selections.
Immense Need Is Driving an HVAC Transformation
Research indicates that ~41 percent of districts need to update or replace HVAC systems in at least half of their schools—or about 36,000 schools across the country. This 2020 estimate is likely out of step with the reality in 2023 as chronic underinvestment in school facilities persists, especially in under-resourced communities. COVID-19 and extreme weather have further challenged these crucial systems and put a spotlight on the importance of well-maintained systems.
Unfortunately, many school HVAC systems are old, inefficient and still combust fossil fuels (gas, oil or propane). This is at odds with societal goals to protect indoor and outdoor air quality, the health of school-aged children and our climate. These outdated systems often do not provide sufficient cooling, ventilation, and/or filtration either.
When school leaders have the opportunity and the means to invest in modern HVAC systems, they are seeking a transformation solution—one that heats and cools spaces reliably and efficiently, achieves ventilation goals cost-effectively, promotes healthy indoor and outdoor air, and complies with the evolving regulatory environment.
Experts are Uplifting All-electric, High-performance HVAC Systems
Industry professionals know each school building is unique. Although many factors are at play, a schools’ climate zone and construction year alone make it nearly impossible to identify a single “best” HVAC system configuration.
However, the consensus among leading experts is to seek three main ingredients:
- All-electric heating/cooling.
- High-performance ventilation.
- High-performance filtration.
For most schools across the country, some form of air- or ground-source heat pump is a centerpiece, supplemented with ventilation equipment like a dedicated outdoor air system or economizer. The graphic below illustrates two possible HVAC configurations, along with other supporting elements in and around the school building.
There are six big benefits to selecting all-electric, high-performance HVAC systems:
- Schools receive heat pumps, a 2-for-1 clean heating and cooling solution, to adapt to new cooling needs and protect students from extreme temperatures
- Heat pumps are not only combustion-free, but they also better support advanced ventilation and filtration, improving air quality inside classrooms and for the broader community.
- Energy efficiency is a hallmark of modern HVAC systems, with heat pumps up to six times as efficient as new fuel-burning heat systems. This can yield significant operating budget savings.
- Electric heat pumps foster safer learning environments by minimizing health and safety concerns that come with fossil-fuel equipment, like potential gas leaks, explosions and carbon monoxide poisoning.
- Pairing modern HVAC systems with weatherization, renewables, and battery storage can boost school and community resilience to extreme temperatures, storms and power outages.
- As schools nationwide respond to top-down policies and grassroots advocacy to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, modern HVAC positions schools as climate mitigation champions.
Leadership Spans School Districts, Cities, States and the Federal Government
This modern HVAC transformation isn’t just theoretical either; I’ll highlight four examples of leadership across the country below:
- Schools in states across the U.S., including Connecticut and Wisconsin, have already taken the initiative to install modern HVAC equipment, such as geothermal heat pumps. Districts like Denver Public Schools and Portland Public Schools, among many others, have voiced commitments to significantly decarbonize heating in upcoming years.
- In jurisdictions where new schools will be constructed all-electric, programs can help fill gaps for existing schools needing retrofits. For example, NYC’s Leading the Charge is a $4 billion plan to electrify 100 existing schools to all-electric heating by 2030.
- State programs can also expedite action. In response to $8 million in funding from its governor, Efficiency Maine is collaborating with HVAC contractors to deliver heat-pump retrofits to rural and aging schools. On the other side of the country, the California Energy Commission has proposed that CalSHAPE’s grants are only used to install zero-emission equipment, making gas equipment replacement ineligible.
- New federal funding sources will support this transition to modern HVAC equipment over the next decade. In particular, the non-competitive incentives offered by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 can shave up to 50 percent off the upfront cost of geothermal heat pumps.
To dive deeper into the whys and hows of investing in high-performance HVAC units for K-12 schools, check out the full report, research briefs, and webinar from RMI and UndauntedK12 online. For additional resources about healthy, decarbonized K-12 schools, visit Getting to Zero, UndauntedK12, Efficient and Healthy Schools Campaign, This Is Planet Ed, Center for Green Schools and ASHRAE.