Priva BMS will enable school to build on its low-carbon standards
The new £12 million building of Pakefield High School in South Lowestoft was built according to low-carbon resource-efficient standards and now aims to maintain those standards throughout the building’s life with the help of a Priva building-management system.
The system was recommended by Universal Systems & Controls, an approved Priva partner. Stuart Minns, operations manager with USC, says, ‘The new building has been equipped with eight Priva panels, situated both indoors and outdoors, to provide optimum performance while remaining highly efficient in terms of control and power consumption.’
All information gathered by the Priva system can be viewed over the school IT network or over the web via the Priva WebEngine graphical interface. Stuart Minns explains, ‘This means that both the school’s facilities managers and other staff members care able to quickly and simply gain access to the all-important energy data, which allows them to monitor and target any sources of water or inefficiency.’
There is a variety of different learning spaces, including science laboratories, art suite, media centre, music suite and performance hall — demanding a high level of flexibility from the control system.
The Priva system includes an energy-centre panel, which controls a biomass boiler. There are two rooftop panels controlling the air-conditioning and air-handling units, as well as environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity and CO2 levels. Remote panels throughout the school control underfloor heating.
The two wings of the building meet in a central internal street with a transparent roof. Careful control of air pressure and climate conditions are required for this space.