Odyssey Elementary is the first school to function as a Net Zero school in Utah as it generates all of its own electricity utilizing 1,200 solar panels and as a result became the greenest school in the state of Utah. It has become the prototype moving forward for future schools in the Davis School District. The building has been built to be flexible allowing spaces to be easily moved or adjusted to meet student and teacher needs. To that end the classrooms are larger; contain large glass garage doors that open up to the commons/dining area space, tables of various sizes allowing students to work while sitting on a stool or a plush seat or standing.
Odyssey is served by three central variable air volume (VAV) air handlers. These air handlers feature fan arrays – for redundancy and noise control – as well as pre-heat coils, indirect evaporative cooling coils (IEC), direct evaporative cooling media (DEC), and MERV 13 filters. Each air handler is capable of economizer operation to take advantage of ‘free cooling’ conditions during the shoulder seasons. Thermal displacement delivery (TD) is used to distribute the air from the central air handlers to the spaces. Cooling is accomplished by utilizing a ground heat exchanger (GHeX) circulation loop in conjunction with the IEC and DEC modules in the central VAV air handlers. When the GHeX loop water temperatures are suitable, the GHeX water will be used to cool the building via the IEC. When water temperatures in the GHeX loop are too high, the IEC operates using a conventional cooling tower. The DEC is used to supplement the IEC to maintain a supply air temperature of approximately 65°F. The central heating plant will consist of water-to-water heat pumps tied to the GHeX circulation loop. Most heating is generated from these heat pumps. The administration areas are heated by the packaged water-to-air heat pumps serving those spaces. Heat is delivered to individual spaces primarily using perimeter finned tube radiators. During peak heating periods, natural gas fired condensing boilers are utilized to limit the electrical kW demand of the water-to-water heat pumps. Outside air is pre-treated using heat recovery units prior to mixing with return air in the air handling units. Additionally, demand controlled ventilation has been implemented in the classrooms to reduce outside air volumes to spaces which are not occupied.
Key E Cube Services for this project
- Pre-functional (installation) review of equipment and systems
- Oversight and review of contractor testing and startup procedures and documentation
- Oversight of Test & Balance contract, procedures and performance
- Functional (operational) review of equipment, systems and controls, as well as a full test of the emergency power system
- O&M manual coordination and review
- Owner training oversight, supervision and review
- Commissioning Report and LEED Systems Manual