Summer: A Season of Humidity and Air Woes

Prevalent significant problems concerning fast growing molds in schools have been a growing concern for school administrators and maintenance teams, particularly during summer breaks. While more prevalent in the warmer, more humid climate of the southeastern region of the United States, it is also a concern of the states that sit in the eastern region of the Rocky Mountains.

It is speculated that these problems are due to a certain set of prevailing factors. One of the most prevalent causes is the absence of circulating air. During summer breaks, when the school is somewhat vacant, the HVAC system that is used for cooling is substantially reduced in operation and in some areas of the building is turned off altogether. Another reason for increased mold growth during this time is that the humidity in outside air in these regions tends to increase during the summer months. Additionally, other maintenance activities such as painting, cleaning of carpets and resealing floors are usually done during these breaks when students and school staff are not present. When this occurs, maintenance of the HVAC system often falls to the wayside, as school breaks are a more opportune time to conduct other maintenance tasks.

In an effort to reduce the occurrence of mold during summer breaks, some schools are revamping the design of their HVAC system to specify the necessary controls that will better control the introduction of humid outdoor air in to the occupied space. For places in these schools where occupancy sensors are being used to detect and control the usage of lights like in the administrators' offices or comfort rooms, automated outdoor air dampers are advised. The installation of switches or timers, which close the dampers and can be operated manually, is another way to accomplish this task. However, this solution involves some complexities that could potentially result in more serious mold problems.

Another issue for consideration is the manual thermostat overrides. The staff and teachers can easily activate the HVAC system while working during non-standard hours such as weekends, holiday breaks, or evenings when an override for each manual is being provided. A simple override button will provide occupants the environmental comfort for a present period of time, usually anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes. This would work two-fold in that it would provide a comfortable temperature to the occupants as well as circulating air within the building thus reducing the occurrence of moisture in the air that can lead to mold.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) sensors should also be taken into consideration during summer periods. These sensors can do the responsibilities of controlling the outdoor air dampers when the occupancy in that certain area may be discontinuous, fluctuate or be nonexistent.

The Environmental Protection Agency has an extensive website, chock full of information regarding mold in the schools. The website, http://www.epa.gov/mold/i-e-r.html, has practical advice that is easily assimilated and understood. The information gleaned from this site can help schools improve the IAQ in the classroom.

Greg McNary has over 25 years experience in the HVAC industry in various positions including service, sales, and management. He is the marketing and operations manager for Air Distributors Company, Inc., a distributor for McQuay Parts and McQuay PTAC Units.

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