Project Name: Ormiston Senior College; Auckland
Rating: 5 Star, Green Star Rating. 1 Green Star Innovation point.
Installation: 6 WINDCATCHER® and 77 SOLA-BOOST®
Control System: INVent
Architect: Jasmax Architects
Engineers: WSP Lincoln Scott
Main Contractors: Fletcher Construction
Status: Complete
Normally a school would have ventilation through the opening and closing of windows, but as the school sits directly below Auckland International Airport’s flightpath, planes roar overhead approximately every 5 minutes.
Ormiston Senior College in Auckland, is the first school in New Zealand to be awarded a 5 star Green Star rating by the independent Green Building Council of New Zealand. The use of SOLA-BOOST® solar assisted natural ventilation units allowed the college to secure 1 point for Green Star Innovation – an extremely difficult accreditation to obtain.
A total of 83 natural ventilation units were supplied to provide integrated natural ventilation and cooling for the public high school. The units are all acoustically treated to operate silently, despite being on the flight path of the Auckland airport.
Use of the SOLA-BOOST WINDCATCHER natural ventilation technology has also contributed to reduced costs as the SOLA-BOOST WINDCATCHER units are energy and maintenance free and in some cases, make the use of air conditioning non-essential.
“The SOLA-BOOST systems have the ability to create a comfortable indoor temperature without any mechanical assistance even through our summer periods. This method of cooling and ventilation will help to reduce our school’s running costs,” says school principal Maurie Jackways.
James Idle, Senior Design Engineer of VENTO Australasia, says the use of the Windcatcher system will provide energy efficient and maintenance-free natural ventilation which will help the school establish a new benchmark for sustainable education infrastructure in New Zealand.
“There is no other natu
ral ventilation system available in the southern hemisphere, capable of providing a constant flow of fresh air while simultaneously extracting warm air to create an optimum ambient room temperature.” he says.
Air conditioning adds dramatically to energy consumption in the built environment and is a large contributor to carbon emissions with as it accounts for as much as 40 per cent of the total energy used in a commercial building. The New Zealand Ministry of Education (MOE) has previously stated that a standard school air conditioning system costs approximately $100,000 per year in maintenance and running costs.
“At first I was sceptical about the units’ performance, however I must admit that I am now impressed with the level of comfort they provide. Despite the howling winds and rain we have experienced these last few weeks we have experienced no rain ingress through the Windcatcher units.” says Mr. Jackways.
With only one moving part and a 10 year warranty and expected life cycle in excess of 10 years the WINDCATCHER technology provide both an environmentally friendly and cost effective cooling solution.
“The overall service provided by Vento Australasia was excellent, a 10/10! The SOLA-BOOST units were a new product in the market, and Vento provided excellent back up and technical support from start to finish.” – David Houghton, Project Manager, Hasties New Zealand
Articles for Ormiston Senior College
Ormiston Senior College
Project Name: Ormiston Senior College; Auckland
Rating: 5 Star, Green Star Rating. 1 Green Star Innovation point.
Installation: 6 WINDCATCHER® and 77 SOLA-BOOST®
Control System: INVent
Architect: Jasmax Architects
Engineers: WSP Lincoln Scott
Main Contractors: Fletcher Construction
Status: Complete
Normally a school would have ventilation through the opening and closing of windows, but as the school sits directly below Auckland International Airport’s flightpath, planes roar overhead approximately every 5 minutes.
Ormiston Senior College in Auckland, is the first school in New Zealand to be awarded a 5 star Green Star rating by the independent Green Building Council of New Zealand. The use of SOLA-BOOST® solar assisted natural ventilation units allowed the college to secure 1 point for Green Star Innovation – an extremely difficult accreditation to obtain.
A total of 83 natural ventilation units were supplied to provide integrated natural ventilation and cooling for the public high school. The units are all acoustically treated to operate silently, despite being on the flight path of the Auckland airport.
Use of the SOLA-BOOST WINDCATCHER natural ventilation technology has also contributed to reduced costs as the SOLA-BOOST WINDCATCHER units are energy and maintenance free and in some cases, make the use of air conditioning non-essential.
“The SOLA-BOOST systems have the ability to create a comfortable indoor temperature without any mechanical assistance even through our summer periods. This method of cooling and ventilation will help to reduce our school’s running costs,” says school principal Maurie Jackways.
James Idle, Senior Design Engineer of VENTO Australasia, says the use of the Windcatcher system will provide energy efficient and maintenance-free natural ventilation which will help the school establish a new benchmark for sustainable education infrastructure in New Zealand.
“There is no other natu
ral ventilation system available in the southern hemisphere, capable of providing a constant flow of fresh air while simultaneously extracting warm air to create an optimum ambient room temperature.” he says.
Air conditioning adds dramatically to energy consumption in the built environment and is a large contributor to carbon emissions with as it accounts for as much as 40 per cent of the total energy used in a commercial building. The New Zealand Ministry of Education (MOE) has previously stated that a standard school air conditioning system costs approximately $100,000 per year in maintenance and running costs.
“At first I was sceptical about the units’ performance, however I must admit that I am now impressed with the level of comfort they provide. Despite the howling winds and rain we have experienced these last few weeks we have experienced no rain ingress through the Windcatcher units.” says Mr. Jackways.
With only one moving part and a 10 year warranty and expected life cycle in excess of 10 years the WINDCATCHER technology provide both an environmentally friendly and cost effective cooling solution.
“The overall service provided by Vento Australasia was excellent, a 10/10! The SOLA-BOOST units were a new product in the market, and Vento provided excellent back up and technical support from start to finish.” – David Houghton, Project Manager, Hasties New Zealand
Click here to read the Principal’s Full testimonial.
Articles for Ormiston Senior College