Webinar: HVAC Change Lab: A New Model for School Facility Transformation

Watch this webinar, co-hosted by the Center for Green Schools, New Buildings Institute (NBI), and NCSI, to learn about the HVAC Change Lab, an initiative designed to help school districts modernize heating, cooling and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and in turn improve energy efficiency along with learning and health outcomes. The webinar dives into the learning model that guides the Change Lab and features two participating districts, IDEA Public Schools (TX, FL, OH) and Prince William County Schools (VA), sharing how participation in the Change Lab is shaping their work.

Ground source and geothermal heat pumps are emerging as a key upgrade pathway. IDEA Public Schools is evaluating ground source heat pumps for the first time, motivated in part by hearing from other districts in the cohort about their results. Prince William County shared two years of data from its own ground source heat pump installation, showing energy consumption down nearly 70% and costs down 65% compared to the prior system. Both districts were clear that geothermal isn’t a fit everywhere. It depends on site conditions and life-cycle cost, but it’s increasingly part of the conversation for major HVAC replacements.

Construction handoff and commissioning remain persistent challenges. Even districts with a long track record in HVAC and sustainability work, like Prince William County, are still refining how projects get handed off to maintenance teams so that efficiency gains hold up over time. Retro-commissioning and monitoring-based commissioning were highlighted as ways to catch and fix problems before they become larger, costlier ones.

A facility condition assessment (FCA) can be the foundation for everything that follows. For IDEA, an FCA wasn’t just about identifying deferred maintenance. It became the basis for a 10-year capital roadmap and helped clarify why the district needed to move beyond in-kind equipment replacement toward more efficient, longer-term solutions.

Building internal buy-in often starts small. IDEA’s approach of piloting smaller projects before pursuing larger ones, and connecting HVAC and sustainability work to outcomes staff already care about (like reduced work orders or time saved), came up as practical ways to build support among facilities and maintenance teams.

Join the HVAC Change Lab network to stay up-to-date on what we’re learning, creating, and sharing.