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ESSER funding is available to adopt technologies that help improve the air quality and environmental conditions in their buildings. To provide confidence in the indoor air environment and to help protect the wellbeing of students, schoolteachers and staff returning to K-12 classrooms, Metro Atlanta’s Cherokee County School District (CCSD) became an early adopter of Abound, Carrier’s smart building platform.
Abound surfaces data from indoor air quality (IAQ) sensors and displays a live rating on a dashboard located in the lobby of some CCSD buildings so that staff have visibility into the health of the space. Carrier is a part of Carrier Global Corporation (NYSE: CARR), a leading global provider of healthy, safe, sustainable and intelligent building and cold chain solutions.
The facility management staff at CCSD has been using the Abound platform in two administrative buildings covering 37,000 square feet. Abound is an open, cloud-based platform that provides real-time insights about air quality, thermal comfort and energy usage, as well as other performance information. Leveraging the latest in Edge, IoT and cloud technologies, Abound works by aggregating data collected from various building systems, equipment and sensors. In the case of CCSD, Abound uses a Carrier Edge device to connect to the Automated Logic WebCTRL® building automation system.
“Implementing Abound in the Cherokee County School District has improved the facility staff and administration’s ability to understand and manage the health and safety of our buildings,” said Bill Sebring, Chief Support Services Officer at CCSD. “We are proud that together, Abound and CCSD are leading the way to help ensure a healthy working environment.”
Abound monitors air quality and thermal conditions in line with science-based standards from the International WELL Building Institute, a global authority on healthy buildings. The platform provides alerts if air quality levels for temperature, humidity, CO2, VOCs, PM2.5 and radon move outside of a healthy range. This allows CCSD to make quick assessments and confident decisions that optimize the comfort and health of their indoor spaces.
The Maintenance Division of Support Services at CCSD has received fewer complaints about temperature since using the data from Abound to adjust humidity levels for face-to-face meetings in the administrative buildings. CCSD plans to expand the presence of Abound to classrooms and fieldhouses to optimize schedules such as automatic temperature adjustments in specific rooms before students return from recess to help maintain an optimal learning environment.
“Carrier is delighted to have a high-performing public school district as a long-time customer and Abound development partner,” said Mead Rusert, Managing Director of Carrier Global Controls. “School facilities teams have an important role to play in creating healthier indoor spaces with building improvements that support better indoor air quality.”
“Schools have a unique opportunity right now to use available government funding to improve IAQ in classrooms and school facilities, building healthier environments that enhance the academic experience. The Elementary and Secondary Emergency Education Relief (ESSER) Fund specifies that this funding can be used to improve the indoor air quality in K-12 school facilities, as well as repair and improve school facilities to reduce risk of virus transmission and exposure to environmental health hazards,” Rusert added.
Abound is part of Carrier’s Healthy Buildings Program and is currently in use across the U.S. with customers in the commercial building, K-12 education and sports and entertainment industries, including Truist Park, home to the Atlanta Braves. It is also operating at Carrier’s world headquarters and building technology showcase, the Center for Intelligent Buildings in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
