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District weighs $250,000–$420,000-per-system HVAC overhaul for elementary school, consultant recommends mini-splits
Summary
A consultant told the Hiawatha School District board that replacing six aging VRF classroom systems at the elementary school with 1:1 commercial mini-splits would limit building-wide failures and reuse existing ventilation, with budgetary estimates of roughly $250,000–$420,000 per system and a recommended phased approach.
Spencer Brakemeyer, a presenter at the Nov. 11 school board meeting, told trustees the district’s highest near-term HVAC priority is six VRF systems at the elementary school and that a phased retrofit is feasible.
Brakemeyer said the team evaluated unit ventilators, water-source heat pumps, rooftop units and replacing like-for-like VRF equipment, but ultimately recommended commercial mini-splits for a retrofit. “What we’re ultimately gonna propose as the right solution for the elementary school…we reuse the existing DOAS equipment,” he said, noting mini-splits use the same indoor cassettes and avoid major ductwork changes.
The…
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