How to Ventilate Educational Centers Adequately?

Maintaining a comfortable and adequate temperature for the study is essential According to a study carried out by the universities of Harvard, Georgia and UCLA, each increase of 0.55 ºC in the average temperature during the year, supposes a drop of 1% in learning. This is due to high temperatures negatively affect students, reducing your ability to concentrate. For this reason, it is important to ventilate educational centers properly, to ensure the well-being of students, teachers and the rest of the center’s staff.

According to this study, from 21ºC there is a reduction in children’s learning. From 32, this reduction becomes more evident and from 38ºC it is exponential From 32, this reduction becomes more evident and from 38ºC it is exponential. Furthermore, according to Annex III of BOE-A-1997-8669, the working temperature for sedentary activities must be between 17º and 27ºC, therefore, we should ensure that the temperature in our centers is as close as possible to 20ºC without exceeding the limit of 27ºC.

Is Air Conditioning the Best Option to Ventilate Educational Centers?

The first thing that goes through our minds when we have to keep a building cool is air conditioning. But is it always the best solution? Of course they emit cold air instantly, and in small spaces such as offices or small classrooms it produces an instant effect. But it has two drawbacks in the case at hand.

The main “but” is its high cost. Cooling all the air inside a building is not cheap, and in a center like a school where doors and windows are constantly opening, it can mean having the devices running all day because they never reach the set temperature, especially in large spaces. such as corridors, lobbies, gyms or function rooms.

The second problem is the minimum temperature that requires us Provision 19915 of BOE no. 298 of 2009 when we have the air conditioning running This must be a minimum of 26ºC Therefore, if we take into account the two articles mentioned, when we install air conditioning in our educational centers, the temperature must be between 26ºC and 27ºC This is a very strict margin that leaves us very far from that ideal temperature for the study, according to the research that we mentioned at the beginning of this article.

Can Fans Reduce Temperature Below 26ºC?

Fans don’t cool the air, so they can’t reduce that temperature, but they can reduce thermal sensation and increase well-being of the occupants of the educational center

As can be seen in the following diagram HSE (Health and Safety Executive), air speed influences our perception of temperature. If a classroom is at 28ºC, moving the air at one meter per second, the thermal sensation of our students will be 25ºC, which is already lower than what the law allows us with air conditioning.

If We Already Have Air Conditioning In The Center, Is It Possible To Combine Both Methods?

Not only is it possible but it will allow us to save a lot of money on air conditioning

First of all, if we set the set temperature of our air conditioning at the legal minimum of 26ºC, according to the previous diagram, at a speed of 0.75 m/s we will achieve a thermal sensation of approximately 23.5ºC.

On the other hand, the fans mix the air homogenizing the room temperature and distributing that cold throughout the room. This allows not only for the air to reach all the students equally, but also for the set temperature to be reached earlier and the devices to work much less time, causing significant long-term savings.

In the following case it can be seen how the heat is concentrated in the upper strata. When the fan is turned on, the air mixes and the temperature is homogenized throughout the room

A very illustrative example of this solution is the case of AENA VALENCIA, which by installing large ceiling fans managed to reduce the thermal sensation of passengers by 5ºC. With this they were able to afford to raise the set temperature and thus obtain significant energy savings by having the machines inactive much longer.

What Is The Best Ventilation Option For Our Classrooms?

In the case of offices and not very large classrooms with ceilings of 2 or 3 meters high as in a home, we recommend our range AERATRON. These are 3 models that are characterized by maintaining our energy saving and efficiency criteria (maximum consumption of 28.5W) but implementing an elegant and fully customizable design They can cover up to 35 square meters, are programmable, and are controlled by a remote control, so the teacher can use them at will without interrupting the class.

Aerotron ceiling fan

For larger classrooms you can combine several of these models or use one of our HVLS fans. These fans are characterized by moving a large volume of air at very low revolutions, so they have very low consumption Specifically for classrooms we recommend the ANEMOI AIRLIM 300M, capable of covering an area of ​​up to 500 square meters For more spacious areas such as libraries, assembly halls, there are models with more powerful motors and a larger diameter to adapt to different spaces. If the center has sports facilities, we recommend read this other article where we address more specific solutions.

Airslim S industrial ceiling fan

Can I Schedule And Automate The Equipment?

All our models can be managed through a digital control screen (Magnocontrol). These controllers allow them to be grouped or turned on individually and even automate these turning on and off. This allows the custodian or maintenance manager to turn the equipment on and off based on the needs of the facility.

An example of distribution could be the following: installing AERATRON or AIRSLIM with individual control in classrooms and offices, so that teachers can turn them on and off at will without interrupting their work. On the other hand, the corridors, the lobby and the assembly hall are centralized in a Magnocontrol in the concierge.

If you have more questions about how to ventilate an educational center. Get in contact with us and we can study your project to give you the best solution.