HVAC FOR SCHOOLS
www.heatingandventilating.net
Ensuring comfortable working conditions in schools
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t is widely acknowledged that the environment in which we work can have a major effect on how well we are able to carry out our duties and this
clearly impacts on productivity output. Therefore, the heating and air conditioning systems within any school need to work effectively for pupils to work comfortably and do their best work. Cold room temperatures are not conducive to a good learning environment, whereas the opposite is true in the summer, when classrooms can get really hot and concentration levels fall considerably – a major problem if not tackled at exam time. Although there is no legally mandated minimum
temperature for any area of a school under the School Premises (England) Regulations 2012, the National Education Union (NEU) advocates for a minimum classroom temperature of 18°C, emphasising the importance of a warm and conducive learning space for students’ well-being and academic performance. Energy costs have escalated dramatically in
recent years, and this has put school budgets under even more pressure, with bursars faced with the problem of heating in schools being the second largest expenditure, just behind salaries. For schools with aging HVAC systems, bursars must decide whether to continue maintaining and replacing old components or to approve ‘bolt-on’ additions to handle increasing capacity demands. Investing in a new system requires significant
capital, often starting with the boiler room. That’s why a thorough audit at the planning stage is crucial to understanding operational needs and long-term costs. Eventually, maintaining an aging system becomes impractical, making a full HVAC replacement the best solution. A detailed audit ensures the right equipment is specified, meeting both current demands and future expansion plans, whether for additional classrooms, washrooms, or sports facilities. Equally important, HVAC systems should provide gentle airflow for comfort while operating quietly to minimise classroom disruptions.
Setting up the system – pressurisation is key
With the creation of any new system, several key factors need to be taken into consideration. For any boiler system to work optimally, the right pressurisation levels have to be calculated, expansion tanks correctly sized and there must be hydronic balancing. Failure to calculate these correctly will result in malfunction being baked into the system, creating inefficiency and breakdowns almost inevitable, if not immediately apparent. Taking shortcuts to save money can ultimately
22 April 2025
Public sector budgets are increasingly being squeezed and this is all too evident in the overall condition of many schools within the UK. Rob Jacques, UK business director of water quality specialists Spirotech, looks into one key area that is vitally important to run HVAC systems efficiently – that of temperature control and the role of water quality in this
Above: Rob Jacques, UK business director of water quality specialists Spirotech
the available time to do the work is usually during the long summer holiday break. Factors impacting on which HVAC system is
installed include the spread of the buildings, the output needed to deliver the energy/heat required, as well as the available budget. At the heart of any system is the boiler and there may be more than one installed across the site. A school requires a pressurised unit with an
integrated degasser or a series of degassers. Vacuum degassers function by lowering the pressure within the vacuum vessel inside the unit. This process releases dissolved gases from the system liquid, allowing the accumulated gas to be expelled. Once commissioning is complete, some
cost more in the long run. For example, the removal of dirt and air separators from heating systems is a bad decision as they safeguard against costly breakdowns of boilers and other system components, by preventing the build-up of dirt and air.
Water conditioning – vital for system performance
All too often, the role of maintaining good water conditioning is underestimated. Get it right and it will play a major role in the efficient running of a system – helping to maintain trouble free operation and long system life. Conversely, failure to do this may result in the delivery of poor performance and, worse still, system failure. Installing a new system – particularly serving a large campus – is likely to be undertaken in stages as
pressurisation units, such as those from Spirotech, can be controlled and monitored via a touchscreen on the unit, a building management system, or remotely through a PC, tablet, or smartphone. Key functions, such as power on/off, error and
alarm resets, degassing, refilling, and boiler interlock activation, can be managed remotely. Additionally, parameters like system pressure, refill pressure, and boiler interlock settings can be adjusted as needed. The latest systems provide comprehensive unit status updates and event history, delivering real-time data for detailed performance tracking. This level of insight supports predictive maintenance, improved reliability, efficiency, and long-term cost savings. Choosing the right system is essential for an efficient HVAC setup. However, it is crucial neither bursars or contractors down the line compromise performance by making cost-driven decisions.
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