Sorting out the air conditioning by 2020 - Alinta Energy

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Sorting out the air conditioning by 2020 - Alinta Energy
Sorting out the air conditioning by 2020
By Rosie Clarke, Editor           Young students from Brunswick           environmental efficiency are        many more smart functionalities
                                  South West Primary School               hot concerns. So, School          as opposed to 15 years ago
Too many schools                  told The Age that they were             News spoke with a few             and this can be confusing.
around Australia get              measuring temperatures over             leaders in the sector to find      Aside from basic training, at
too hot and it impacts            30°C in their classes, making           out what air conditioning         a minimum depending on the
                                  it “so hard to concentrate”.            options and insights are          system and model installed,
student learning.                                                         available for schools in 2019.    principals should set timers
                                  Research going back to
During summer of this year,                                                                                 and a reasonable temperature
                                  the 1970s has shown that                Industry points                   limit range for each season.
Victorian state primary
                                  temperatures above 23°C can             to remember:
schools made headlines                                                                                      If you have split systems with
                                  negatively impact student
with children becoming ill                                                Daikin Australia’s air            filters installed at your school,
                                  comfort and concentration,
and suffering nosebleeds                                                   conditioning brand manager        as a general rule, they should
                                  particularly in subjects like
because their classrooms                                                  Lien Lam spoke to us about        be cleaned every two weeks
                                  reading and mathematics. A
had no air conditioning.                                                  servicing tips for schools.       if the system is used during
                                  2018 Harvard Kennedy School
                                                                                                            majority of the day when class
                                  study of 10 million secondary           Having the air conditioners       is in session. In more dusty
                                  school students found that              checked each year by a            or polluted environments (for
                                          they had better academic        qualified service technician       example, schools located near
                                             results after a cool         before more extreme seasonal
                                                                                                            main roads), the filters should
                                              school year than after a    conditions set in is ideal to
                                                                                                            be cleaned more regularly as
                                              hot school year. In fact,   make sure the systems perform
                                                                                                            blocked filters can reduce a
                                              student achievement         at their best. Aside from this,
                                                                                                            system's efficiency significantly.
                                             dropped by one percent       remember to keep the air filter
                                                                                                            A clean filter can lower your
                                            per additional degree         clean and the outdoor unit
                                                                                                            air conditioner's energy
                                           in temperature (in             free of leaves and debris.
                                                                                                            consumption by anywhere from
                                          Fahrenheit as this was
                                                                          Today’s air conditioners have     five percent to 15 percent.
                                         a US study). Associate
                                        Professor Joshua Goodman
                                       reflected: “School air
                                       conditioning penetration
                                      reported in 2016 mitigates
                                     the adverse effect of hot
                                    temperatures substantially,
                                   such that moving from a
                                  school with no air-conditioned
                                  classrooms to a school with
                                  all air-conditioned classrooms
                                  reduces the impact by
                                  approximately 78 percent.”

                                  For schools that have air
                                  conditioning, and those hoping
                                  to install it, maintenance,
                                  ongoing cost, ventilation and

                              All images shown are courtesy of
                                      Daikin Australia

48                                                                PROPERTY                                  Term 3, 2019 | school-news.com.au
Sorting out the air conditioning by 2020 - Alinta Energy
Understandably for principals,                                                                           in the most efficient manner.
having control over how staff                                                                             Central control also ensures
use the air conditioners is a                                                                            systems are not operated
priority to ensure there are                                                                             when rooms are unoccupied
no major surprises when                                                                                  or outside of school hours
they receive the energy           can go, even controlling it           Most education departments       incurring costs unnecessarily.
bill for the quarter.             remotely via an app. If schools       and authorities typically
                                                                                                         Indoor air quality is as
                                  are concerned about energy            have a standard set point
Advancements in control                                                 for temperatures based on        important as climate control
                                  bills during summer, one thing
technology have given users                                             comfort and energy efficiency.     in schools. The introduction
                                  to note is that for every 1°C
the ability to access all kinds                                         As a guide, 24°C in summer       of outside air internal space
                                  you increase the thermostat,
of functionality available in                                           and 20°C in winter will offer     has cognitive benefits for
                                  it has the potential to
the air conditioning systems.                                           comfort as well as efficiency      students but low cost options
                                  reduce energy consumption
This includes things as basic                                           in operation. Centralised        within classrooms may not
                                  by five to 10 percent.
as timers to ensure that it                                             controls provide schools         have the ability to do this.
switches on and off during         Resident air conditioning expert      with the ability to maintain     When selecting a solution for
specific times of the day, and     at Alinta Energy Geothermal,          optimum temperatures with        classrooms, it is important
days of the week, limiting how    Mark Langdon discussed the            classrooms as well as ensuring   that the option has provision
low and high the temperature      importance of indoor air quality.     that they are being operated     for introduction of outside air.

                                          All images shown are courtesy of Alinta Energy Geothermal

50                                                             PROPERTY                                  Term 3, 2019 | school-news.com.au
Sorting out the air conditioning by 2020 - Alinta Energy
Image courtesy of Mitsubishi Australia

A ducted geothermal system         and that’s it. The next option is a    involves cleaning and taking        up to 40 percent of the energy
will have this option available.   ducted system where you have           out filters to wash, checking the    consumption of an old air
                                   a sealed unit in the ceiling but       heat exchanger and fan barrel       conditioning unit so it is worth
Like all mechanical equipment,
                                   they can cost about 50 percent         to ensure they are not clogged      looking at replacing them purely
air conditioning systems will
                                   more and are more involved             with dust. If filters are not        on the basis of cost savings.
always work most efficiently
                                   to install. Ducted systems             cleaned, the dust pulls through
when it is properly serviced.                                                                                 You can do a lot to reduce the
                                   have much better filters, a             the filters and clogs the unit and
All air conditioning system                                                                                   energy costs of the school.
                                   longer lifespan and better             in some cases the systems can’t
manufacturers will have                                                                                       Some schools use a motion
                                   maintenance but the favoured           be salvaged. Keeping it clean
prescribed servicing regimes.
                                   school trend is for split systems.     should be a priority because        sensor to detect movement and
One of the key advantages                                                 keeping it clean goes hand in       body heat so they know to turn
                                   A badly maintained air
of a geothermal ducted                                                    hand with energy efficiency           on if a room is occupied and
                                   conditioning system may
system is that they will                                                  and the life of the product.        turn off when it isn’t. I think the
                                   only last half as long as it
require less maintenance                                                                                      temperature has to be kept as
                                   should, so once a system is            I recommend maintaining your
than a conventional                purchased, schools should              system every month. Proper          close to 23 degrees as possible.
system, reducing the cost          enforce a diligent maintenance         maintenance could make              It’s a learning environment, so
of equipment ownership.            program undertaken by staff             the difference between your          students should be comfortable
The use of geothermal air          or contractors who know what           system lasting ten years or five     and you shouldn’t be sacrificing
conditioning systems is being      they are doing. Maintenance            years. A new system will have       comfort for energy.
recognised as a genuine energy
saving option for schools
both in Australia and globally.
Through using the constant
temperature of the ground, a
geothermal system will provide
consistently high efficiencies in
comparison with a conventional
air conditioning system. The
removal of external fans also
provides safety, design and
acoustic benefits to schools.

We spoke with air conditioning
specialist Ari Grimekis from
Mitsubishi Electric about
popular options for schools.

Wall-hung split system air
conditioning is the most
popular with schools due to
price. They are the cheapest
form of air-conditioning you
can get and you just put them
on the wall in the classroom,
connect your piping and wiring

52                                                               PROPERTY                                     Term 3, 2019 | school-news.com.au
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