The Renfrew County District School Board (RCDSB) has showcased some new technology that’s being used to help bring more clean air to local schools.
On Wednesday night (November 24th, 2021), representatives from the National Research Council, Ottawa Community Housing, the Renfrew Victoria Hospital and the Renfrew County Catholic District School Board attended Pine View Public School in Petawawa to highlight a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) optimization program.
Director of Sales and Marking for Nerva Energy, Juan Malvestitti, says basically what they do is come into the building (whether it be a school, hospital or long-term care facility), look for duct leakage and seal anything up.
He adds the water based polymer solution they use can fill gaps the size of a hair follicle up to 5/8 of an inch.
For a 20,000 square foot facility like Pine View School in Petawawa, Malvestitti says crews would take about two days looking for air duct leakage and performance, about two days doing any manual repair work and up to 12 hours of running the machine.
The RCDSB says 17 schools have undergone improvements with the remaining to be complete by June, in time for the start of the school year in September of 2022.
The results speak for themselves in terms of having more fresh in in class rooms for staff and students.
RCDSB Manager of Facility Services Bill Murray broke down some of the numbers at schools across Renfrew County.
- Champlain in Pembroke – 37% improvement
- Valour in Petawawa – 31% improvement (a 6-year-old building)
- AJ Charbonneau in Arnprior – 36% improvement
- Highview in Pembroke – 68% improvement
- Central in Renfrew – 18% improvement
- Herman Street in Petawawa – 25% improvement
In addition to providing more clean air, the program can also save on energy costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
RCDSB Director of Education Pino Buffone says this is a great initiative that keeps health and safety top of mind with added cost savings and environmental benefits.
In one example NERVA Energy presented using 30 schools with 1.2 million square feet of ventilated spaces, the cost of the duct sealing and HVAC optimization program would be $2.4-million ($2/square foot).
The $2.4-million would be recouped within 7-years through an annual utility savings of $350,000 (60% electric, 40% gas).
RCDSB Chair Bryon Morris says they are so pleased to be leading the way within Renfrew County on this project and for the 2021-2022 school year, the board is investing $5.8 million toward 26 ventilation projects.
This included a three-school pilot from December 2020 to May 2021 which placed REME-LED active air purification and duct sealing at Champlain Discovery Public School, Valour JK-12 School and Fellowes High School.
The Cleaner Air for Schools Program is a partnership between Nerva Energy, Mohawk College and Thomas Cole Inc., and supports schools across the province as they work toward increasing ventilation and improving indoor air quality.
NERVA Energy staff take CFM reading on HVAC system at Pine View Public School in Petawawa