There has been a £3billion investment in the education system. Malcolm Jaques of Warmafloor discusses how UFH can be used alongside other technologies in building sustainable schools.
Building or renovating a school today presents a set of challenges that would not have been foreseen 20 years ago. The Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme is only one factor - but it is, after all, the financial vehicle that is allowing the education system to reform.
At the heart of the BSF programme are deep-routed energy efficiency targets which will set the education system on a path to future proof buildings.
BSF gives the green light to school designs that might never have been considered. It has provided the construction industry with a blank canvas from which schools can be built to demonstrate a balance of sophisticated energy efficiency measures and designs.
Design teams must consider the need to future proof the building at the start of the process
Top of the agenda
Energy efficiency and sustainability have been at the top of the government agenda to date. And visible and stretching targets have been devised that place the importance of zero-carbon measures not only in the hands of the architects and consulting engineers but also the teaching staff, governors and in many instances the pupils themselves.
Warmafloor has worked with more than 1,000 schools in the last four years developing heating and cooling systems that add value to the fabric of the school. How you warm or cool a school is no longer a secondary decision. The company is working with school heads and architects to design heating systems that not only maximise the usable space available in a room but will have an equally positive impact on fuel consumption and the long-term ecology of the school.
When it comes to building schools for the future, the true success stories will be those schools that harness emerging green technologies and integrate these into the fabric of the building. Systems that were once considered the basic necessities of operating a school are now becoming the means by which schools can achieve better Display Energy Certificates.
Catalyst for change
Already, those schools that are the product of the BSF programme are being heralded as the catalyst for change. One example is the Michael Tippett School, which was developed in record time with the main contractor on site for just six months. Warmafloor installed about 4,000m2 of underfloor heating consisting of tacker insulation panels incorporating a fabric grid pattern to aid pipe spacing.
The whole underfloor heating system is served from a central plant room with just two boilers, with flow and return temperatures to the manifolds feeding the underfloor circuits running at just 50˚C and 40˚C respectively.
The school synchronises the underfloor heating system and natural ventilation system using an audible alarm. If windows are left open during winter and the underfloor heating system does not get up to temperature quickly enough, the alarm sounds to alert staff to close windows.
The school's heating can be controlled from any personal computer. Other sustainable features include a sedum roof and mini gas-fired heating plant, which collectively will cut carbon emissions by a predicted 13%. It was the first school to receive a BREEAM 'very good' rating.
Warmafloor has worked for more than 20 years with education centres and has helped pioneer heating and cooling technology. Schools have used underfloor heating for years. The framework of BSF allows even more schools to harness greener technology.
Design teams must consider the need to future proof the building at the start of the design process. Otherwise the opportunity to use the most efficient heating and
cooling design technologies will be missed.
Warmafloor helps ensuring these buildings stand the test of time and reflect the positive challenges of today's diverse sustainability agenda.