It seems only common sense that the health and productivity of a school’s occupants would be of paramount importance in designing and operating a school. Yet many of New Hampshire’s students and teachers struggle to learn and teach in buildings with inferior and often unhealthy conditions. Today much is known about the importance and benefits of:

• visual, acoustic, and thermal comfort
• excellent indoor air quality and prevention of respiratory ailments including asthma and allergies
• eliminating the dangers of toxins including those in building materials, cleaning supplies, pesticides, and fertilizers
• increasing the safety and security of schools.

Daylighting
Acoustic Comfort
Thermal Comfort
Visual Comfort
Superior Indoor Air Quality
High Performance Heating/Ventilating/Air Conditioning (HVAC)
High Efficiency Electric Lighting
Safety and Security
Environmentally Preferable Building Materials, and Products
Recycling and Composting Waste

Daylighting
Natural daylight is the highest quality light for visual tasks. In several studies, abundant daylight has been shown to improve student achievement on standardized tests by as much as 26%. Furthermore, daylight reduces the need for electric lighting, thereby reducing operational lighting costs and cooling costs, as heat is a byproduct of electric lighting. The admission of daylight through appropriately positioned windows, skylights, and roof monitors, such that glare and excessive heat loss and gain are avoided, is a cost-effective and energy efficient means of improving productivity, visual comfort, and natural ventilation. Daylighting, when done in conjunction with energy modeling, can also reduce the use of nonrenewable, green-house-gas producing fossil fuels and provides students a visual and physical connection with the outdoors.

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Acoustic Comfort
Studies indicate learning is improved in quieter classrooms. Noise levels influence behavior, reading comprehension, verbal interaction, attention, stress levels, and overall academic achievement. Indoor and outdoor noise pollution can distract students and make it difficult for them to communicate with their teachers. This is especially problematic for the hearing impaired, those for which English is a second language, and young students, as the ability to distinguish sounds from background noise does not develop until adolescence. High performance schools create superior acoustical environments via design and materials that reduce sound reverberation inside the classroom, limit transmission of noise from outside the classroom, and minimize background noise from heating, cooling, and ventilation systems. Click here for an interactive diagram of a high performance classroom or click here for a static diagram.

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Thermal Comfort
Changes in temperature and humidity can reduce students’ attention spans and productivity. Likewise, the growth and activity of bacteria and mold are temperature and humidity sensitive. High performance schools incorporate temperature and humidity monitors, classroom-specific controls for teachers, appropriate daylighting, and natural ventilation to ensure thermal comfort and superior indoor air quality, thus reducing absenteeism, teacher dissatisfaction, and the occurrence of sick building syndrome.

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Visual Comfort
Visual discomfort simultaneously increases eyestrain and decreases productivity (see section on daylighting). Visual comfort is achieved by:

• integrating natural and artificial light in a manner responsive to climate-, site-, and classroom-specific requirements
• balancing the quality and quantity of light 
• controlling glare
• and provides a visual connection to the outdoors.

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Superior Indoor Air Quality
The correlation between indoor air quality (IAQ) and health is undeniable. According to the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities, one in five children attends a school with poor indoor air quality.  In a 2000 survey completed in New Hampshire 2 out of 5 schools reported poor indoor air quality.  The result of poor indoor air quality may include symptoms such as irritated eyes, nose and throat, upper respiratory infections, allergies and asthma, nausea, dizziness, headaches, fatigue and increased rates of infectious diseases. Due to their small size and rapid breathing and metabolic rates, children are especially susceptible. Poor indoor air quality increases the likelihood of long- and short-term health problems, absenteeism, and liability exposure. By properly siting buildings, limiting the use of toxins and biological agents (during construction, operation, and maintenance over the life of the building), controlling sources of contamination, and providing adequate ventilation, superior indoor air quality can be achieved and maintained.

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High Performance Heating/Ventilating/Air Conditioning
Ventilation is critically important in all occupied buildings, but none more so than schools. Because of their small size and rapid respiration rate, children breathe a greater volume of air proportionally than adults, and the occupant-to-space ratio is higher in schools than in offices and residences. The poor air quality and thermal discomfort of poorly functioning heating/ventilating/air conditioning systems negatively affect the health, morale, and productivity of students and teachers. What’s more, many heating/ventilating/air conditioning systems are inefficient and oversized resulting in excessive and costly energy consumption. In 2000, 53% of New Hampshire schools reported problems with their heating/ventilating/air conditioning systems.Because of the integrated and energy efficient approach of high performance school design, heating and cooling loads are reduced and, as such, heating/ventilating/air conditioning systems can be downsized. For instance, more insulation in the walls and roof combined with more energy efficient windows and doors, will result in smaller heating/ventilating/air conditioning system requirements. Smaller high efficiency equipment is cheaper to purchase and operate over the life of the building, resulting in significant savings. Individual heating/ventilating/air conditioning controls in classrooms allow teachers to optimize teaching and learning conditions for themselves and their students.

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High Efficiency Electric Lighting
Electric lighting can account for as much as 50% of a school’s electric power requirements. High quality, efficient electric lighting and fixtures may require a slightly higher initial investment, but the operations savings typically payback that increase within the first year of operation. Such preemptive planning, when used in concert with daylighting design and technology, will optimize visual quality and efficiency. The utility companies in New Hampshire offer rebate programs for school districts who wish to undertake lighting upgrades or install new, efficient lighting. When used in combination with daylighting strategies and integrated controls, even more energy can be saved.

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Safety and Security
Schools should, above all else, be safe and secure environments in which our children can focus on learning. High performance schools are designed with this key element in mind. Design that ensures natural surveillance, controlled access, and security technology is considered and prioritized throughout site planning, construction, and operation of high performance schools. Such considerations complement other important elements of high performance schools including daylighting and walkability.

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Environmentally Preferable Materials and Products
High performance schools use recyclable, recycled, durable, non-toxic, renewable, and locally manufactured materials and products whenever possible. This commitment makes environmental and economic sense while serving to reduce liability exposure, keep occupants healthy, and educate students on the importance of environmental stewardship and responsibility.

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Recycling and Composting Waste -- High performance schools encourage composting and recycling of wastes by providing for receptacles and storage facilities early in the design phase. Students are encouraged to invest in the process and to adopt the environmental ethics and standards as their own.

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