As many as 100 schools across the state use faulty HVAC systems, including those in Montgomery and Baltimore counties
The variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems were installed under the 21st Century School Buildings Program, a $1 billion effort to modernize aging facilities that began in 2013.
Late one Saturday night in February, as temperatures in Baltimore dropped below 15 degrees, Arlington Elementary School’s heat was malfunctioning.
The state-of-the-art heating system, part of a $41 million renovation completed in 2020, had been on the fritz for days, leaving one part of the building sweltering and the other frigid.
But that night, the sprinkler system froze and a pipe burst in the art room. Water came raining down on the art supplies and the cabinets, filling the floor, the hall and seven classrooms. Between snow days, heating issues and the burst pipe, students at the Northwest Baltimore school were home for nearly two weeks.
Arlington is one of 22 Baltimore City public schools renovated with a proprietary heating and air conditioning system that’s proven temperamental and expensive to fix. School system staff can’t work on the specialized systems, which were chosen for their energy efficiency, leading to repair costs of at least $2 million a year. Replacing the system at Arlington, as one engineering firm recommended, could run as much as $12 million.
What to do about the problem-plagued systems is still being debated by several state and city agencies.
The variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems were installed under the 21st Century School Buildings Program, a $1 billion effort to modernize aging facilities that began in 2013.
At the time, lawmakers did not trust that city schools had the capacity to build or renovate about 30 schools in a decade. They put the Maryland Stadium Authority in charge of construction.
The school system, the stadium authority, the city and the Interagency Commission on School Construction, or IAC, worked together on the 21st Century Schools program.
When construction began, VRF systems were new, and “people were excited about them as energy efficient,” said Alison Perkins-Cohen, chief of staff for city schools. But the city began having issues with the systems soon after, as did other schools around the state. As many as 100 Maryland schools use VRF for heating and cooling…
…The IAC said in an email that its role was limited to reviewing and approving the general scope of the projects but not the design details…
…Jonathan Collins, the director of mechanical services and engineering for Baltimore City Public Schools, said his staff has discussed the VRF issues with other school systems that are having the same problems…