Lakewood High School

Modernizing an Aging HVAC System While Keeping School in Session

Superior Mechanical completed a major HVAC controls and variable air volume (VAV) retrofit at Lakewood High School while the building remained occupied during the school year. Superior replaced more than 80 VAV boxes and upgraded the school’s controls with minimal disruption, completing the project months ahead of schedule.

Challenge

Lakewood High School was operating with an outdated control system and VAV equipment that had become costly and difficult to maintain. Replacement parts for some of the equipment were no longer readily available, and repairs required extensive retrofitting.

The district chose to address the aging controls and VAV boxes together as one coordinated project. More than 80 VAV boxes located throughout classrooms, lunchrooms, and other areas of the building had to be replaced while students and staff continued using the facility.

Analysis and Solution

The project was designed by an outside engineer, but the plans could not fully account for how the new controls would be integrated while the existing system continued operating.

Superior worked with Lakewood Schools for years and understood how the building operated. The team built the new control system in parallel with the existing system, allowing areas of the building to transition to the new controls as work was completed.

Superior also coordinated classroom access and student movement with school staff as VAV boxes were replaced throughout the building. Careful sequencing kept the work moving while limiting disruption to normal school activities.

Results

Superior Mechanical completed the controls and VAV retrofit months ahead of schedule while Lakewood High School remained in operation.

The upgraded equipment and controls improved system reliability and reduced the maintenance burden associated with aging components, unavailable parts, and increasingly extensive repairs. Just as important, Superior completed a building-wide retrofit with minimal disruption to students, staff, and normal school activities.

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