Nuaire’s XBC range of award-winning Heat Recovery Units have been installed into the new Eastern High School in Cardiff to deliver high standards of wellbeing for its 1200 students and staff.
The new school consists of 59 classrooms, open teaching spaces, dining areas, a gym and an activity studio. Over £26 million has been invested into the project, which is designed to be a modernised and more stimulating space in which to teach and learn.
A high level of wellbeing has been designed into the building, including a focus on indoor air quality as a means of improving student’s ability to concentrate, as well as the standard at which teachers can perform.
A major objective throughout all stages of the project was ensuring a high level of energy efficiency; the school intends on having the lowest possible carbon footprint possible. Graham Carr of McCann & Partners, the consultancy managing the project, explained: “The school utilises a ‘traffic light’ type natural ventilation system with enhanced single sided ventilation in classrooms. Where natural ventilation could not be provided, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery was specified using Nuaire XBC units.”
To meet strict SFP energy requirements, a non- standard, larger sized XBC unit was specified for the project. McCann & Partners was able to make use of Nuaire’s BIM Level 2 library and collection of Revit families to accurately alter designs and devise a solution to the site’s space restrictions. From this, McCann & Partners coordinated with other building services to ensure the heat recovery system would be the right size and layout for the space available on site.
Nuaire’s XBC units, and its various other fan units, were fitted with Ecosmart Classic Control. This allowed CMB Engineering, responsible for all M&E work, to commission each fan separately, reducing overall power consumption, and allowing for various plug-and-play Ecosmart controls and sensors to be installed. Tony Williamson, Operations Manager at Eastern High School commented: “The new XBC range of units has one of the best heat exchangers in the industry, with efficiencies of up to 96%. This will aid the school massively in minimising its carbon footprint and achieving a committed standard of energy efficiency.”
Eastern High School has achieved an Energy Performance Certificate Grade ‘A’ and BREEAM 2014 rating of ‘Excellent’ for its ability to achieve an ambitious level of energy-efficiency. Tony Williamson has stated: “The air quality in the new campus is far superior to what they had in the old school.”
Nuaire provides a full range of energy-efficient domestic, commercial and renewable ventilation solutions. UK based with over 500 employees worldwide, Nuaire has been at the forefront of the ventilation industry since 1966.