Thirteen (13) custom AAON rooftop units were provided for the new MaST Community Charter School campus. School HVAC has to do several jobs at once: hold classroom comfort through Philadelphia’s full range of seasons, deliver the ventilation and air quality that support healthy learning, run efficiently on an institutional budget, and operate quietly enough to support instruction. The equipment package was built around those requirements, with each unit custom-configured for its zone of the building rather than forced into a one-size-fits-all selection. H.C. Nye coordinated selections with the design engineers so performance, dimensions, and electrical requirements were locked in early.

H.C. Nye Company partnered with consulting engineers Schiller and Hersh to supply HVAC equipment for the new 56,000 SF, three-story MaST Community Charter School in Philadelphia, PA. To meet the project’s performance and comfort requirements, thirteen (13) new AAON rooftop units were selected, featuring:

Modulating cooling and gas-fired heating: For precise temperature and humidity control. Rather than cycling between too hot and too cold, the units track the load and hold classroom temperatures steady through the school day. Humidity control also matters in Philadelphia’s muggy shoulder seasons, when cooling loads are light, but moisture is high.

Factory-mounted DDC controls: To optimize energy efficiency and enhance occupant comfort. Facility staff can monitor and adjust the system from the building automation front end, catching issues before they become comfort complaints, and scheduling by the school calendar keeps energy use down on nights, weekends, and summers.

High-efficiency filtration and built-in air purification: For superior indoor air quality, a priority in any building filled with students and staff. Cleaner supply air matters most in schools, where high occupant density puts more demand on ventilation and filtration than a typical office.

Custom “school bus yellow” exterior finish: To align with the school’s branding, reflecting the level of customization AAON builds into every unit.

Additionally, H.C. Nye provided custom acoustical isolation curbs to ensure quieter operation and support an improved classroom learning environment. Rooftop equipment sits directly above occupied classrooms, so the curbs isolate vibration and attenuate radiated sound, letting the systems run unnoticed while class is in session. The result is a building where comfort, air quality, and acoustics all support learning, delivered on an institutional budget and coordinated with the design engineers from selection through startup. For MaST, that meant a new campus that opened comfortable, quiet, and efficient on day one.