Passive Schools

The need for Passive schools

It wasn't too long ago when each pupil had to bring some fuel to heat the classroom.

The environment in which our children study has a fundamental bearing on how they succeed.

The quality of classroom environment in terms of comfort and fresh air is vital.

The need also to save money in schools is very important and the best way is to reduce energy costs.

Schools use a lot of energy.

Lighting,space heating, water heating,appliances give rise to everyday costs which form the bulk of the schools running costs.

At the building stage the introduction of passive design can virtually eliminate the heating costs.

In fact schools have many advantages in that they are occupied during the day which is the warmest time.They are generally unoccupied in the summer when over heat is a problem.

So what are the main drivers in passive design which eliminates the heating costs.

The use of solar gain in a passive classroom is easy as the window sizes are large to maximize natural lighting.

The use of triple glazed coated windows traps the heat and warms the class room

The use of masonry walls store the heat so the night time heat loss is minimized.

The borrowed heating from pupils lighting and appliances are far greater than in a standard house as the concentration of all three add to the overall heat.In fact a properly designed passive classroom will require no heat as the heat generated is sufficient to heat the class room.Using solar water heating will contribute up to 85% of the hot water usage for the classroom.

The mechanical heat recovery system can collect up to 90% of the extracted heat through the heat exchanger.

When the classroom is designed in this way the savings are substantial.

Of course the other major benefits is the constant flow of fresh air which reduces the carbon dioxide levels in classrooms and keeps the pupils and teachers much sharper.

The use of passive construction for one or more classrooms will save thousands over the lifetime of the school allowing school fund to be used elsewhere.

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