Investigation of Cooling and Dehumidification Energy Use and Indoor Thermal Conditions in Polk County Schools Permanent Replacement Classroom Buildings

Abstract

Increasing enrollment in grades K-12 coupled with the spiraling costs of construction has pushed school boards to develop more cost-effective classrooms, from the perspective of initial cost, longterm energy consumption, and ease of maintenance. To this end, the Florida's Polk County School Board has developed a four-quad permanent replacement classroom building. Each classroom is equipped with a package terminal heat pump (PTHP) with a thermostat control with a four-hour crank timer. The objective of this research was to compare the energy consumption and interior conditions of the autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) construction with an unvented roof assembly to that of the conventional metal framing and concrete panel buildings. Four buildings, 2 metal-framed and 2 AAC buildings with dehumidifiers were chosen for extensive testing and monitoring. The goal was to maintain a relative humidity of 50% as well as an interior temperature of 75oF.