Passivent helps school achieve ‘Very good’ grade
Helping to achieve a BREEAM ‘Very good’ rating for eight new classrooms and library at Durrington Middle School in Worthing are Passivent Airscoop natural-ventilation units and Sunscoop tubular rooflights. The units were installed by M&E Contractor Upton McGoogan.
There are five Airscoop units linked to a zone temperature and CO2 control panel and ten 530 mm Sunscoop tubular rooflights with light-attenuating dampers across the roof of the single-storey 645 m2 development.
Airscoop uses a roof-mounted terminal divided diagonally into four chambers. Wind from any direction is channelled down the windward chambers into the building at low velocity and displaced air from the space below out through the leeward chambers. The control panel enables ventilation and air quality to be finely controlled to maintain a comfortable and fresh environment. Electricity requirements are minimal.
Sunscoops catch daylight through a roof-mounted glazed dome and reflect it down highly silvered tubing into the room below to provide diffused daylight without solar glare. Light-attenuating dampers enable teacher to control the amount of daylight as required.
Work at the Silsoe Research Institute has shown that a 530 mm-diameter Sunscoop yields up to eight times more light than a 60 W bulb or 13 W low-energy lamp.
