Stobart Community School in Duck Lake, Saskatchewan, is a new and important facility in the small community that greatly benefited from commissioning in ensuring that the facility was safe, and ensuring all areas were appropriately heated from the first day of school.
Service completion: Fall 2012
Scope of services: Fundamental Commissioning (EAp1)
Size: 65,000 sq.ft.
Building systems: Curtainwall and brick envelope, radiant in-floor heating and no cooling, high efficiency lighting.
Stobart Community School brought together the community’s elementary school and high school into one comprehensive facility. In the northern climate and with anticipated low occupancy in summer, a cooling system was not necessary; however, the heating system was a large investment, complete with large expectations of low energy usage and exceptional occupant comfort.
Upon installation and commissioning of the mechanical system, it was first noted that a large safety issue existed: the air handling units were not tied to the fire alarm system. Also, the dampers on air handling units did not close upon fan shut down. On the zone level, the in-floor radiant heating system was not properly balanced, and thus not properly heating all zones. The crawlspace was also not appropriately meeting setpoint, as there was no hot water flow getting to the unit heaters. Most of these issues were a result of airlocks in the heating lines, undersized pumps and lack of guidance for balancing of the hydronic system.
Because of the formal documentation of these and other findings in commissioning reports and appropriate follow-up, all issues were addressed by the designers and contractors in a timely fashion. This resulted in a facility that operated as designed soon after the students returned to the classroom.
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