Special Considerations for HVAC Systems in Montreal’s Learning Institutions

Airflow in schools does more than keep the rooms comfortable. It plays a big role in keeping students healthy, focused, safe, and it has to meet some pretty strict standards to do that. At SMP LeBlanc, we’ve had the opportunity to work on both new and existing schools across the North Shore of Montreal, performing specialized HVAC tasks that make a measurable difference behind the scenes.

Over the past few months, we’ve been contracted for air balancing and duct testing work at multiple institutions, including several projects for Ventilabec Inc., and more recently, as part of a public contract for the Centre de services scolaire des Mille-Îles (CSSMI).

Here’s a look at what’s involved, what makes it different in school settings, and what we’ve been up to lately.

Why School HVAC Systems Demand Special Attention

School buildings may look simple from the outside, but they operate with a level of intensity that few other public spaces match.

Think about it. You have 25 to 30 students packed into a single classroom for hours at a time. That’s a lot of bodies generating heat, moisture, and carbon dioxide. Now multiply that by every classroom in the building. Add in gymnasiums where activity levels spike, cafeterias with cooking equipment running full tilt, and libraries where the HVAC system has to be whisper-quiet, yet just as effective.

The air quality standards in schools are, understandably, held to a higher bar. Children spend roughly 1,200 hours a year inside these buildings. That makes ventilation a health issue, a learning issue, and a performance issue, all at once.

But here’s where it gets tricky. School schedules don’t leave a lot of wiggle room for HVAC interventions. You can’t just shut systems down for testing in the middle of a Wednesday. Every inspection, every adjustment, and every test we perform has to be timed with care. So often that’s evenings, weekends, or during professional development days. And that level of coordination is one of the reasons clients trust us to do this kind of work.

Air Balancing Work at Montreal-Area Elementary Schools

This part of the process is all about verifying that air is being delivered where it’s supposed to, at the rates it was designed to reach. We go classroom by classroom, using specialized tools to measure airflow, then adjust dampers, fan speeds, and more until everything is performing within target ranges.

We follow industry standards to ensure consistency and reliability. Our reports (both preliminary and final) are detailed, straightforward, and submitted for full client approval.

Balancing is the way we confirm that the system is truly doing what it was built to do. Especially in older schools where upgrades happen in phases, this step is crucial to extending the life of the HVAC system and improving day-to-day performance.

Recent HVAC Projects

This spring, we’ve had the chance to support a number of school HVAC projects, each with its own objectives, timelines, and technical considerations. Working under Ventilabec Inc., we contributed to several expansion initiatives, where new classroom wings were being added to existing school buildings:

• At École Sir Wilfrid-Laurier in St-Lin-des-Laurentides, we completed air balancing following the addition of modular classrooms. That work wrapped up on June 4.

Our role has been to ensure that airflow across both new and existing areas is fully optimized with consistent delivery, minimal losses, and clean documentation every step of the way.

We were also awarded a public contract through a competitive tender process to support the Centre de services scolaire des Mille-Îles (CSSMI). That mandate includes air balancing across five elementary schools in the region:

• École Alpha in Rosemère was completed on May 30. There, we worked within an existing structure to verify and recalibrate the airflow after duct cleaning.
• At École de l’Envolée in Blainville, we wrapped up our work on June 9.

Each school presented a different setup. Some were newer builds, while others had aging infrastructure. Our job has been to meet them where they are, identify what’s working, pinpoint what needs adjusting, and deliver systems that are ready for whatever the next school year brings.

What’s Still Ahead This Summer

With the school year winding down and summer break just around the corner, we’re entering a window where HVAC work in schools can happen without the usual time constraints. That means more flexibility to go deeper, test thoroughly, and make sure every system is performing exactly as it should.

We have a few exciting projects coming up that will each test our skills in different ways.

• École l’Aubier in St-Lin-des-Laurentides is scheduled for June 25. It’s another project with Ventilabec Inc., and like the others, it will also involve the same thorough process of air balancing.
• École Barthélémy in Joliette is set for July 7. This site gives us another opportunity to ensure the air systems in these educational spaces meet the standards students and teachers deserve.

We’re also continuing our work with the Centre de services scolaire des Mille-Îles (CSSMI).

• École Arc-en-Ciel in St-Eustache is currently in progress
• École du Bois-Joli in Ste-Anne-des-Plaines is also actively underway.
• École Espace-Couleurs in Terrebonne is scheduled for July 7.

Each school brings its own unique set of conditions, and in our next blog, we’ll be sharing exactly how we adapt to those realities, what challenges we’ve run into, and how we continue raising the bar for HVAC performance in learning institutions.

Why It All Matters

At the end of the day, our work is about more than fans and filters. It’s about showing up for our community; quietly, reliably, and with the kind of attention to detail that helps teachers teach and kids learn, without ever thinking twice about the air around them.

We’re proud to do this work and even prouder that trusted names like Ventilabec Inc. and CSSMI have chosen us to do it. We don’t take that lightly.

Stay tuned as we continue documenting our experiences across these diverse educational facilities.