Programme for energy efficient schools, phase 1

The goal of the 'Program for energy efficient schools' is to establish a solid foundation for the planning, design and operation of the energy efficient school of the future. The Program focus on the development of methods and procedures for reduction of the energy demands for lighting and ventilation, while at the same time emphasising the necessity of maintaining a healthy and stimulation indoor environment that fulfils the pedagogical demands of the new Danish school. The results of the Program's Phase 1 have now been published. As part of the basis for describing the demands of the future school, a survey was performed, covering heating energy, electricity and water consumption in 100 school buildings through the years 1996, 1997 and1998. On average the energy for heating is slightly increasing over the years examined, while the electricity is constant and the water consumption decreased by 16 % over the period. Based on recorded operation hours, installed power for lighting systems and ventilation plants, etc., the distribution of electricity use has been calculated for 7 selected schools. The results show great variations in the distribution of the electricity use between the 7 schools. The general results of these preliminary studies serve as reference basis in the more detailed projects on lighting and ventilation. The report Lighting in Schools - Daylight utilisation and efficient lighting systems' gives and overview on how to achieve a good visual environment in the 'school of the future'. The report covers the development of school buildings in Denmark and gives an overview of current building regulation, standards, and recommendation on lighting in schools. Basic principles for designing with daylight are given, illustrated with different window solutions for teaching spaces and examples from real school buildings. The planning and design of electrical light systems are explained from basic planning parameters to the choice of luminaries and control strategies. The project also included renovation of two classrooms in an exiting school as well as the planning and design of a new school section. Often, it is assumed that 'good' daylight can only be achieved with large windows. The investigations have shown, however, that there is no correlation between the glazing area and the lighting quality or the daylight illumination level in the classrooms. The important factors are the position and the height of the window in relation to the depth of the space. In fact the 'best' design solutions appear to be the simpler ones, i.e. those with high positioned side-windows in rooms that are more than 3 meters high and less than 7 meters deep. Good daylight utilisation is a prerequisite for energy efficient lighting, but efficient luminaries with a combined presence and daylight responsive control system can reduce the energy consumption with more than 50 %. In a pilot study a survey have been carried out in selected schools in order to identify promising solutions for ventilation. The solutions have been carefully studied in regard to energy needs for heating and electricity as well as their ability to control the indoor environment, the users' influence on the system control, and possible problems with draught, noise, etc. In total seven promising ventilation principles has been described with sketches and a listing of advantages and drawbacks for each of the solutions