Natural ventilation could prove the most efficient and effective method of cooling some 1284 classrooms in NSW after it was revealed eight out of 10 new BER-built classrooms in the state lack airconditioning.
With 30,000 children expected to face sweltering conditions this summer John Brodie, a leading sustainability consultant, says the numerous benefits of natural ventilation make it a practical and cost-effective method of creating a comfortable learning environment.
“Natural ventilation is a highly efficient method of providing cooling to large spaces including classrooms and administrative buildings and has already been successfully implemented in Australian schools,” says Mr Brodie, the managing director of VIM Sustainability.
“Airconditioning can contribute as much as 40 percent of the energy use of a building and there are proven benefits to cooling buildings with fresh clean air such as reduced sick leave, increased concentration levels and productivity.
“The BER program was designed to deliver world-class learning facilities and sustainable school buildings and the use of natural ventilation would help achieve this while also minimising ongoing running costs.”
Cooling via natural ventilation can be implemented through automated window systems or highly intelligent rooftop systems such as Monodraught’s Windcatcher range which is a proven cooling solution in education through Europe with over 1500 schools enjoying the benefits of constant fresh air supply, hot air expulsion and automatic night cooling which are all benefits of the systems.
A local supplier, Vento Australasia who manufacture and distribute the systems locally have enjoyed success in introducing Windcatchers to a number of Australian schools including Melbourne Grammar School, the PPP Super Schools programme in Adelaide, Wynumm Manly Environmental Education Centre QLD and Mary Mackillop College in Sydney.
The use of natural ventilation for cooling has been used for centuries in very hot climates and the modern technology has a number of benefits over traditional mechanical cooling methods such as air-conditioning, says Mr Brodie.
“As a cooling method natural ventilation is highly efficient and low maintenance which delivers reduced energy costs with the added bonus of maintaining optimum indoor climate creating a productive learning environment,” he said.
New generation natural ventilation such as Sola-boost Windcatchers, which have recently been utilised in the PPP Super Schools project in Adelaide, use intelligent sensors and solar powered fans to distribute fresh air throughout a building while simultaneously expelling hot air out of the building, says James Idle, a senior design engineer with Vento Australasia.
“These units are individually engineered to function optimally for each installation and have been used in leading applications including Ormiston Road Senior College in Auckland which was the first school in the southern hemisphere to achieve a five star green star rating,” says Mr Idle.
“Constant fresh air movement increases concentration and as temperature and carbon dioxide levels are monitored the higher these measures become the more the system is going to work to maintain optimum levels as set by the user.
“Once the school is unoccupied a night cooling mode commences and the systems will rapidly purge the spaces of all the built up, hot stale air, therefore providing a cool refreshing environment as the platform from which to start the next school day.”
John Brodie is the principal and founder of Vim Sustainability has 30 years of experience in the design and construction industry, lectures part-time on sustainability at the University of Technology, Sydney and has written for numerous journals on various aspects of sustainability.
Vento Australasia is leading supplier of sustainable building solutions including natural ventilation, daylighting and alternative energy production and management. Based in Sydney , Vento connects engineers, designers and end-users with cost-effective and environmentally sensitive building products and solutions.
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Sustainable solutions the answer to cooling schools.
Natural ventilation could prove the most efficient and effective method of cooling some 1284 classrooms in NSW after it was revealed eight out of 10 new BER-built classrooms in the state lack airconditioning.
With 30,000 children expected to face sweltering conditions this summer John Brodie, a leading sustainability consultant, says the numerous benefits of natural ventilation make it a practical and cost-effective method of creating a comfortable learning environment.
“Natural ventilation is a highly efficient method of providing cooling to large spaces including classrooms and administrative buildings and has already been successfully implemented in Australian schools,” says Mr Brodie, the managing director of VIM Sustainability.
“Airconditioning can contribute as much as 40 percent of the ene
rgy use of a building and there are proven benefits to cooling buildings with fresh clean air such as reduced sick leave, increased concentration levels and productivity.
“The BER program was designed to deliver world-class learning facilities and sustainable school buildings and the use of natural ventilation would help achieve this while also minimising ongoing running costs.”
Cooling via natural ventilation can be implemented through automated window systems or highly intelligent rooftop systems such as Monodraught’s Windcatcher range which is a proven cooling solution in education through Europe with over 1500 schools enjoying the benefits of constant fresh air supply, hot air expulsion and automatic night cooling which are all benefits of the systems.
A local supplier, Vento Australasia who manufacture and distribute the systems locally have enjoyed success in introducing Windcatchers to a number of Australian schools including Melbourne Grammar School, the PPP Super Schools programme in Adelaide, Wynumm Manly Environmental Education Centre QLD and Mary Mackillop College in Sydney.
The use of natural ventilation for cooling has been used for centuries in very hot climates and the modern technology has a number of benefits over traditional mechanical cooling methods such as air-conditioning, says Mr Brodie.
“As a cooling method natural ventilation is highly efficient and low maintenance which delivers reduced energy costs with the added bonus of maintaining optimum indoor climate creating a productive learning environment,” he said.
New generation natural ventilation such as Sola-boost Windcatchers, which have recently been utilised in the PPP Super Schools project in Adelaide, use intelligent sensors and solar powered fans to distribute fresh air throughout a building while simultaneously expelling hot air out of the building, says James Idle, a senior design engineer with Vento Australasia.
“These units are individually engineered to function optimally for each installation and have been used in leading applications including Ormiston Road Senior College in Auckland which was the first school in the southern hemisphere to achieve a five star green star rating,” says Mr Idle.
“Constant fresh air movement increases concentration and as temperature and carbon dioxide levels are monitored the higher these measures become the more the system is going to work to maintain optimum levels as set by the user.
“Once the school is unoccupied a night cooling mode commences and the systems will rapidly purge the spaces of all the built up, hot stale air, therefore providing a cool refreshing environment as the platform from which to start the next school day.”
John Brodie is the principal and founder of Vim Sustainability has 30 years of experience in the design and construction industry, lectures part-time on sustainability at the University of Technology, Sydney and has written for numerous journals on various aspects of sustainability.
Vento Australasia is leading supplier of sustainable building solutions including natural ventilation, daylighting and alternative energy production and management. Based in Sydney , Vento connects engineers, designers and end-users with cost-effective and environmentally sensitive building products and solutions.