Project: Improving student comfort and reducing energy consumption in specialist school

The Italian Bilingual School (IBS), located in Sydney’s inner western suburb of Leichhardt, upgraded its teaching facilities earlier this year, with its top priorities being to improve the learning environment and comfort of students, as well as reducing energy consumption. Robert Ruggeri, principal of the school, turned to HPM Legrand, and added BTicino sound diffusion and lighting automation systems to effect these objectives.

The installation of these systems, along with new LED-based emergency and exit lighting, has significantly contributed to the school’s ‘green’ rating. At the time of writing, Leichhardt Council had scheduled to conduct a greenhouse audit on the school, and Ruggeri was confident IBS would “come through with shining colours, albeit low-energy ones.”

The school deploys innovative teaching methods; and the new sound diffusion system has allowed it to integrate the latest teaching and electronic technologies available - such as smart interactive boards and iPods - to be used in its classrooms to provide a more effective educational environment for the students.

The sound diffusion system, when combined with the smart interactive boards and iPods, enables the teachers to adjust the environment of the classrooms, for example switching between ‘student presentations’ and ‘quiet study time’ scenarios, through the classroom controllers. The system accepts audio input from up to four different sources, such as conventional audio systems, iPods and computers, and can diffuse music and other audio signals into up to eight different zones. In the classroom environment, there is also potential for announcements to be broadcast through the entire school.

Legrand emergency lighting was also installed throughout the two-level school to ensure the students could be efficiently evacuated in the event of a fire or other emergency. Fitted with long-life LED lights instead of conventional fluorescent tubes, this component of the installation alone is estimated to have reduced energy consumption by as much as 70%, as well as offering further savings on eliminating the need to regularly replace fluorescent tubes.

Conceived and designed by the Chief Executive Officer of HPM Legrand Giuseppe Parola, the Italian Bilingual School project had synergies with BTicino, a range that is designed and manufactured in Italy. Introduced to Australia in 2008, the BTicino system is a complete suite of automated applications for environmental control. It enables the various components of an electrical system to communicate, and increases comfort, safety and communication within the chosen environment.

Commenting on the lighting system, Parola said: “The classroom lighting system, which uses Nelson T5 low-energy consumption fluorescent tubes, was carefully calibrated and scenarios were programmed by HPM Legrand technicians to ensure appropriate settings were in place for the various tasks that were to be undertaken by students, including reading, writing, working on a computer and artwork. The system has been designed for maximum user flexibility, whereby scenarios can be changed directly by the teachers themselves to suit their immediate requirements.

“The usually harsh classroom lighting has been eliminated, resulting in softer lighting that is more comfortable for both students and teachers, with a choice of settings at low, medium and high. Sensors and timer switches can also help ensure lights are only on when required, helping to decrease energy consumption and contribute to the school’s aim of improving its energy efficiency. And with minor adjustments, both the sound diffusion and lighting systems could also be conveniently controlled remotely via telephone or the internet.”

School principal Ruggeri said: “The new sound diffusion and lighting control systems were initially conceived to meet the needs of our students and teachers working in the classroom on a range of activities each day. But we have also found them helpful for our support staff, such as cleaners as well.”

The new installation is seen as a trial run for the school prior to the installation of a complete automation system at a new school location, which is currently still in the planning stages.