Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) has released its proactive measures to cool schools during a major heat wave, according to a press release.
With technicians working tirelessly to test HVAC units 24/7, the district aims to prevent problems for the upcoming school year. Despite this, the potential for isolated issues among the approximately 25,000 cooling units in use daily is possible, according to the press release.
"Because most APS schools were built 50 or more years ago, most schools have evaporative coolers," said John Dufay, APS executive director of maintenance and operations.
In the last year, APS has allocated over $28 million in federal funding to enhance school HVAC systems. With responsibility for overseeing 19 million square feet of property and managing 25,000 air conditioning units, APS faces the challenge of maintaining these systems with a limited number of HVAC technicians, the press release stated.
“Humidity can handicap evaporative coolers, so you can’t bring the heat down more than 20 degrees. If it’s 105 degrees out and the evaporative coolers are blowing on high with humidity, you still can’t achieve a temperature below 85 degrees,” Dufay said.
APS wants to assure the school community and the public that their technicians are diligently resolving reported air conditioning issues. However, response times may differ based on demand, and repairs could be limited by parts availability. Although multiple air conditioning units may be operational at a site, APS ensures that if one or two fail, affected staff and students are relocated to areas with functioning AC. While APS can't guarantee a trouble-free AC year, ongoing efforts include using federal funds to upgrade HVAC systems, acquiring additional temporary cooling units and providing portable fans and filtered water in all classrooms and schools, according to the press release.
"It’s important to remember that air conditioners are mechanical systems, and just like our units at home, they can be fine one day and not the next,” said APS Chief Operations Officer Dr. Gabriella Duran.