This project involved retrofitting an existing portable classroom at West Jr. High School in Boise, Idaho. The classroom was constructed by students in a shop class in 1972 and retrofitted during the summer of 2001. Construction differences between the original and new classrooms are listed in the table below. Also see the comments from an instructor at the school posted below.
BAIHP team members involved with the project include:
Idaho Department of Water Resources
Boise School District
Washington State University Energy Program
Pacific Northwest National Labs
Avista Corporation
Florida Solar Energy Center
All data is downloadeddaily to FSEC via modem. Data summaries can be accessed online at the InfoMonitors web site. Detailed data queries and graphs can also be generated through FSEC's WebGet database. |
Boise, Idaho Portable Classroom |
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Characteristic |
Original Classroom |
Retrofitted Classroom |
Floor Insulation |
R-19 |
R-19 |
Wall Insulation |
R-11 |
R-11 |
Ceiling Insulation |
R-22 |
R-38 |
Windows |
Single Pane with Al Frame |
Double Pane Low-e with Vinyl Frame |
Exterior Doors |
Metal |
Metal |
Lights |
T-12/Mech |
T-8/Elect |
Heating System |
Heat Pump |
Heat Pump |
Cooling System |
Central Heat Pump SEER 9 |
Central Heat Pump SEER 12 |
Ventilation |
N/A |
HRV 900 cfm |
Outside Dimensions |
24' 25" X 30' 25" |
same |
Outside Square Footage |
734 SF |
same |
Inside Dimensions |
23' 4" X 29.4 |
same |
Inside Square Footage |
688 SF |
same |
Volume |
5160 CF |
same |
Infiltration at 50 Pa |
15 ACH |
5.9 ACH |
An instructor in the portable had this to say about the project:
Room 40 is now "wired" as a part of a state
and federal study of energy consumption
in portable classrooms. You can use this site to monitor
how much energy is being
used for lights, heat, outlets, air conditioning, and
overall. It is also possible to track
temperature, humidity and room usage during the day. I
spent some time playing with it
and found it quite interesting. It's possible to check
the effect of changing the
thermostat, turning out the lights, and turning off the
computers on a daily, weekly or
monthly basis. I can even tell if the janitor came in
and what days I showed a movie.
The results will be used to gauge actual energy usage
in a "real classroom" and to
make recommendations as to what energy saving efforts
may be most effective.