5 recommendations
At Swegon we have many years of experience across a wide range of building applications, project challenges and customer requirements. This has given us extensive knowledge of hands-on project challenges. We also continuously gain valuable insights from developing new products, systems and solutions to meet our customers’ needs. We share our knowledge through a number of guides and here we have selected the most relevant HVAC recommendations that also apply for school buildings.
Get everything right from the beginning
OFFICE GUIDE – ECONOMIC ASPECT
The really expensive product or system choices are the ones that are not perfectly suitable or not meeting the indoor climate requirements. To avoid time-consuming product replacements, or compromises that affect comfort and productivity, it is important to make well-informed decisions from the beginning.
Our recommendation is therefore to use product category-specific software and full-scale laboratory tests early in the project. Both of these save time and resources as product configurations and optimal operation details are calculated in the process. Software like AHU Design, Room Unit Design and CH Design, all from us at Swegon, are tools that can be used also for school projects.
Learn more about building economics in our office guide
Get familiar with our softwareWhich is it - air or water, air and water?
HOTEL GUIDE – NAPKIN SKETCH
It is usually expressed as "air or water", referring to the choice between utilising an airborne or waterborne system for heating or cooling a building. However, ventilation and air quality requirements can only be met through an airborne system, which is why "air and water" is more correct.
A decision between air or water can be fairly easy in an older building because the existing duct work for ventilation can probably not be re-sized for both supply air and climatising. It is often easier to make water accessible for a waterborne solution to complement ventilation.
New-build projects, shools or other buildings, should focus on the intended use, occupancy levels and investment considerations alltogether when choosing between air and/or water.
Curios about the hotel napkin sketch, here it is
More about air or waterHospitals and care rooms as examples
PUBLIC BUILDINGS GUIDE
If asked what is most important in terms of indoor climate in a hospital, many would probably answer “ventilation”. That is, for numerous reasons, absolutely right - it is vital to ventilate to minimise the risk of virus or bacteria spreading.
On the other hand, an entire hospital cannot be ventilated at maximum capacity at all times. Examination rooms, offices, waiting areas and care units require an indoor climate that supports the people working in the premises and which also ensures a comfortable visit or stay for the patient.
Apply this thought to a school, not all too different. This part of our public buildings guide holds a number of valuable insights and links that can be useful for a school’s HVAC project.
To our public buildings' guide
Additional expert perspectives
In addition to sharing knowledge and expertise suitable for schools, but borrowed from other application guides, we would also like to offer further perspectives on indoor climate and learning environments. Below are two blog posts and one reference case that highlight the importance of knowing, in real time, how an HVAC solution performs and how the indoor climate conditions are inside.
- Blog: Lowering energy consumption without compromising comfort
- Blog: When it comes down to business, it is all about the indoor climate
- Reference case: Viktoriaskolan in Sweden
Learn more about our digital services, INSIDE
Think adaptability in the initial stages
OFFICE GUIDE – BUILDINGS HAVE A LONG LIFE
Many of the buildings standing today will also be standing in twenty years, and buildings currently under construction will be in place for about fifty to a hundred years. During that time, building use will most certainly change and that should be considered already in the early stages of a construction or renovation process.
With the many perspectives of sustainability in mind, it is important to be able to adapt, reuse and update an HVAC-solution as time passes. Replacing products and systems that actually work, put unnecessary strain on the environment and cause pointless disturbance for the people inside. It is therefore key to consider a highly adaptable HVAC solution that can answer to alternative uses of the building. From a school perspective, it is very likely that classrooms are used differently both short and long term.
Sound in a concert hall might be too obvious
PUBLIC BUILDINGS GUIDE - SOUND
Most will describe sound as incredible music or think of the whirl of ocean waves. But sound can also be unpleasant and disturbing, and is then often called noise. It is essential for environments such as concert halls to eliminate all kinds of disturbing sounds.
Concert halls are designed to let the beautiful music take centre stage. Schools deserve an environment with the same sound priorities. Noise should not compete for attention, classrooms should be places where students and teachers are heard and can be at their very best.
Blog: Why eliminate all monotonous noice
Focusing on sound