Funded by the California Energy Commission (CEC), the project will result in technical specifications for a common HVAC system designed to reduce energy costs by 30 percent, lessen acoustical noise, and improve overall IAQ.
"California is faced with the compounded problem of budget woes and an increasing need for classroom space that has resulted in a very high number of portable classrooms," said Michael Apte, Ph.D., indoor environment department, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. "We're working with the CEC to develop HVAC equipment that saves energy and improves IAQ in portable classrooms by taking advantage of the latest building automation technologies to create better learning environments, save the state money, and provide higher quality education.
"Echelon's participation and the technology they created gives us a novel set of tools to monitor and assess the new system's performance, enabling us to achieve our goals."