Innovative heating and cooling system is part of the plan to achieve LEED-Platinum status
Phoenix, AZ – January 20, 2011– The Green Schoolhouse Series, a national Green School initiative, announced that Taco, the nation’s leading provider of hydronic heating and cooling systems, will provide innovative HVAC technology to be featured in the series’ high-performance, eco-friendly Phoenix Safari Schoolhouse.
Taco’s chilled beam components maintain luxuriously cool temperatures even during the summer months by removing heat from interior spaces through a series of chilled water-filled pipes, offering substantial comfort, energy, and operational benefits in comfort, energy efficiency and operation over traditional HVAC systems. In particular chilled beam systems use almost no airflow, eliminating drafts and substantially improving comfort over all air or direct refrigerant systems.
Student health is an essential consideration in the school environment, and another key advantage of the chilled-beam system is that it does not circulate dirt, dust, or germs the way traditional forced-air systems do.
With chilled beams, cold water circulates through tubing embedded in metal ceiling fixtures to wick away heat. What makes the technology so significant is its broad applicability for commercial structures and its extreme energy and thermal efficiency.
“The main thrust is to meet the needs of students and instructors while serving as a responsible steward of resources for generations to come,” said John White, Jr., Taco President and CEO.
The Green Schoolhouse Series builds environmentally-sustainable, LEED-Platinum designed Green Schoolhouses at Title I, low-income, public schools. LEED Platinum is the United States Green Building Council’s highest sustainability certification and Taco’s innovative HVAC will take its place alongside a variety of other Green features, including earth-friendly wall and floor systems, zero-VOC paint, daylighting, and rainwater catchment.
Created specifically to replace the aging and in many cases unhealthy portable classrooms currently in use at schools across the country, each Green Schoolhouse ranges in size from 6,000 to 12,000 square feet and replaces four to 10 portables with a permanent, multipurpose, educational facility designed to provide not only additional classroom space during the day, but a site for after-school programs and community activities on nights and weekends.
Other Green Schoolhouse partners include, Kraft Foods, IGA, American Express, DeVry University, Xerox, DuPont, Owens Corning, and Armstrong World Industries.
About Taco
Taco is the nation’s leading producer of hydronic heating and cooling systems for residential and commercial building applications. A third generation family-owned company, Taco has been trusted by professionals to design the most reliable products in the industry for more than 90 years. Headquartered in Cranston, Rhode Island, with manufacturing facilities in both Cranston and Fall River, Massachusetts, Taco offers some of the most innovative and energy-efficient HVAC systems available. Its commitment to Green Building is matched only by the loyalty it extends to its employees, vendors, and customers.
About The Green Schoolhouse Series
The Green Schoolhouse Series is a unique collaboration bringing together corporations, foundations, school districts, municipalities, communities, media outlets, and volunteers to build high-performance, environmentally sustainable, LEED-Platinum designed Green Schoolhouses at Title l, low-income, public schools.