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ST. THOMAS AQUINAS SCHOOL
The School needed to address prohibitive costs for heating their school hall. After installation of the Airius system comfortable temperatures of 18°C – 20°C were maintained against external temperatures of <12°C and the workload on their HVAC system was heavily reduced, saving on running costs and CO₂ emissions.
KEY POINTS:
- Internal temp maintained at 18ºC-20ºC
- Before Airius heating ran continuously
- Conditions balanced throughout
- No hot or cold spots
- External Temperature <12ºC
- Heating now only runs 15 minute cycles
- Quick and easy installation
- Ceiling Apex = 6.7m
- Improved pupil attentiveness
- Vastly Improved air circulation
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS SCHOOL – AIRIUS DESTRATIFICATION FAN SYSTEMS
St. Thomas Aquinas School in Bowral has installed 8 Airius thermal equalisers to serve a newly constructed school hall with a ceiling peak of 6.7m.
As part of the BER schools project, Martin O’Toole Architects chose the Airius system as advised by sustainable consultants from Vento and Vim Sustainability.
The technology was chosen as a cost-effective solution to ensure that the building reduced its heating bills and carbon emissions.
Andrew Lowden, the project architect said, “The Airius thermal equalisers are a great asset to the school hall. The main benefits for the client include improved air circulation, a balance of temperature throughout the building, low running costs, silent operation and easy installation – all at a highly affordable price.”
Andrew underwent a site visit to test the units in 2011, when outdoor temperatures in Bowral did not exceed 12⁰C.
“The hall’s gas heating system warms the hall effectively within 15 minutes. However, to maintain this temperature for long periods of time would be cost prohibitive to the school. This is where the Airius units come into play. Once the hall is occupied, the gas heaters are turned off, leaving the Airius units running to circulate the warm air. When the Airius system was turned on, a constant temperature between 18-20⁰C was maintained for a period of time” he says.
James Idle, the Senior Design Engineer at Vento had designed the destratification solution to ensure that the warm air generated by the gas heaters would be distributed evenly throughout the building. “The aim of the Airius system design was to reduce the workload on the existing HVAC system, allowing the end user to save on their gas bill”.
Andrew confirms that his client was on a tight design budget, however the Airius units were highly affordable, and gave an attractive payback period and cost savings against the school’s existing gas and heating bills. “I would highly recommend the Airius solution for my future projects.”