The advantage classroom; sustainable design for achieving indoor air quality, comfort, and an improved learning environment.

In March of 1996, a new Elementary School was occupied which is the first in the United States to utilize the concept of displacement ventilation as the primary means of providing both good indoor air quality and thermal comfort. In addition, the integrated "sustainable" design concepts of the facility also address other important factors including: siting, programming, lighting, acoustics, energy efficiency, classroom computer usage, and access for planned HV AC preventive maintenance. Ventilation and thermal comfort objectives are achieved through the use of a combination of 100% outdoor air delivered low in the classroom, and the use of demand controlled ventilation. This paper presents a brief explanation of the basic advantages of non-mixing, ventilation systems and discusses the HV AC costs, operational savings, and environmental benefits of implementing this concept. Because of the success of the design in this initial facility, we have pursued this design strategy in several more schools that are currently under construction and are now utilizing this approach for all school designs.