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Thermal Comfort System Map.tiff
Hawaii Department of Education

HEAT ABATEMENT PROGRAM

Data-driven cooling solutions for tropical island classrooms

MKThink, in partnership with the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI), is leading the Heat Abatement Program - a program aimed at improving thermal comfort conditions district-wide. Weather stations at 37 sites and indoor sensors at 62 schools collect data on environmental conditions. MKThink is applying the data to design cooling strategies specific to buildings and microclimates and to identify priority sites. The data is available on a public portal that offers transparency into district decision-making and a resource to drive sustainable design statewide. The program mitigates the $1.7 billion cost of installing air conditioning, contains the $50 million annual cost of electricity, and expands the impact of the $100 million state appropriation for heat abatement.

BREAKDOWN:

DATES: 2013 - Present
STATE: Hawaii
SIZE/SCALE: 290 Schools
MARKET: K-12
SERVICES: Thermal Comfort Research, Energy Systems Study, Strategic Planning, Heat Abatement, and Innovation.

PROJECT:

CHALLENGE: Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE) faces the challenge of cooling 290 schools across the state’s 1,500-mile archipelago.
APPROACH: Partnering with HNEI, MKThink applies data collected from weather stations at 37 sites and indoor sensors at 62 schools to design cooling strategies specific to buildings and microclimates and to identify priority sites.
RESULT: The program mitigates the $1.7 billion cost of installing air conditioning, contains the $50 million annual cost of electricity, and expands the impact of the $100 million state appropriation for heat abatement.
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