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13/08/2010
WINDOWMASTER HELPS MONMOUTH SCHOOL ATTAIN HIGHEST BREEAM RATING
The Rogiet Primary School in Monmouthshire, which achieved the highest BREEAM (www.breeam.org) score in the UK, features a natural ventilation and window control system supplied by WindowMaster (www.windowmaster.com). To include natural ventilation in the design of the building the architects had to overcome noise issues as an integral part of the design.
Rogiet school was officially awarded a score of 78.8 per cent and BREEAM rating of Excellent. The school also won the 2010 BREEAM Schools Award. It was commissioned by Monmouthshire County Council, designed by White Design (www.white-design.co.uk) and constructed by Willmott Dixon (www.willmottdixongroup.co.uk). The brief was to make the school an exemplar of sustainable design.
Due to the location of the school between a railway line and close to both the M4 and M48 motorways, noise was an important issue when designing the natural ventilation system.
The project architect for Rogiet School, Till Scherer of White Design, said: “WindowMaster was involved in the design of the school right from the start. The design statement called for a natural ventilation system with automated and manual façades and roof windows controlled by a building management system (BMS) which could be used to provide visual data on the operation of the building including temperature, CO2 concentration and energy use.
“Studies have shown that reduced CO2 levels are good for learning environments because they keep people alert, healthy and able to concentrate. The potential difficulty was keeping windows open in an area where noise is a problem.
“WindowMaster was able to design a system that opened windows on either side of the building just enough to allow suitable ventilation but keep as much noise as possible out.”
WindowMaster, Europe’s largest provider of natural comfort and smoke ventilation solutions, was chosen to provide the window automation system for Rogiet School because of its ability to provide complete installations, in particular the central computer control system. It includes 50 window actuators controlling windows in ten different zones around the school, various sensors and a weather station.
The control system understands and knows how the wind speed and direction on all façades will influence the airflow through the windows on each level and location in the façade. WindowMaster determines the Cp values (pressure coefficients) individually for each window by calculating the relevant air pressures from different wind speeds and directions.
WindowMaster carries out computational fluid dynamic calculations for 16 wind directions for the specific building and its surroundings. Based on the calculations the Cp values are determined and programmed into the control system, which enables the precise control of the individual windows resulting in an optimal indoor climate. Each zone operates independently of the others according to the specific external conditions relevant to those windows and the internal environment.
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Notes to editors:
WindowMaster is based in Kettering, Northamptonshire, and is Europe’s largest provider of natural comfort and smoke ventilation solutions.
The company is part of the VKR Group, based in Denmark, which also includes VELUX roof windows, VELFAC window and facade systems, Rationel Windows and Faber sun-screening products. The Group employs more than 13,000 people in more than 40 countries.
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06/07/2010
WINDOWMASTER DIVES INTO THE POOL INNOVATION CENTRE
WindowMaster (www.windowmaster.com) is supplying natural ventilation and control systems for a new innovation and business incubation centre in Cornwall. The £12 million Pool Innovation Centre is a purpose built three-storey facility designed to meet the highest environmental sustainability standards. The 3,500 square meter centre will have space for 45 offices of varying sizes, six shared meeting rooms and conference facilities.
Designed as an incubator to foster entrepreneurship in the region, the innovation centre was constructed for South West Regional Development Agency (www.southwestrda.org.uk) by Sir Robert McAlpine (www.sir-robert-mcalpine.com). It will accommodate growing businesses and will act as a catalyst for boosting Cornwall’s economy.
The management of the centre is being delivered by Plymouth University (www.plymouth.ac.uk) on behalf of Cornwall Council (www.cornwall.gov.uk) and is backed by £9 million of ERDF Convergence investment and almost £3 million from the South West RDA.
The building has been awarded a BREEAM (www.breeam.org) ‘Excellent’ rating – one of the highest levels of environmental accreditation available for new buildings – and is designed to emit 35 per cent less carbon dioxide than a traditionally constructed office building of a similar size. Natural ventilation and a window control system will help to maintain a comfortable environment for people.
It has been designed to provide flexible accommodation with units ranging in size from 25m² to 90m². To help tenant circulation and networking, all central services including reception, meeting rooms, conference facilities, toilets and kitchens will be shared.
WindowMaster was selected by project designers Halcrow Yolles (www.halcrow.com) because it is able to provide an integrated approach to control of the heating and natural ventilation systems in the building.
Halcrow’s project engineer Nick Sendall said: “We needed a specialised system of natural ventilation to capture moving air outside the building and a system to control windows in the building to circulate the air, maintain interior climate and reduce CO2 levels.
“The project design specified a natural ventilation system based on WindowMaster’s NV Advance window automation system. It was chosen because it provided a complete installation with a central computer control system. The installation includes a weather station, various temperature sensors and 253 actuators which control façade windows and roof windows. It will work in conjunction with 28 'wind catchers' on the roof that channel fresh air into the building.
“The system needed to be flexible enough to deliver optimum internal air quality in 62 separate zones spread out over three floors.”
The control system understands and knows how the wind speed and direction on all façades will influence the airflow through the windows on each level and location in the façade. WindowMaster determines the Cp values (pressure coefficients) individually for each window by calculating the relevant air pressures from different wind speeds and directions.
WindowMaster carries out computational fluid dynamic (CFD) calculations for 16 wind directions for the specific building and its surroundings. Based on the calculations the Cp values are determined and programmed into the control system, which enables precise control of the individual windows resulting in an optimal indoor climate. Each zone operates independently of the others according to the specific external conditions relevant to those windows and the internal environment.
WindowMaster sales manager Carl Sutterby said: “This project follows several other examples of innovation centres using natural ventilation as their main principle and incorporating many low energy ideas to maintain a low carbon footprint. Previous projects include Butterfield Park in Luton and Rope Tackle in Shoreham, West Sussex.”
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22/06/2010
THE SECRET OF GOOD ACOUSTICS IS IN THE TIMING FOR WINDOWMASTER
WindowMaster (www.windowmaster.co.uk) is supplying natural ventilation systems for two of the schools being constructed by the Newham Learning Partnership (NLP).
NLP is a consortium which has been selected by Newham Council to deliver its Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.
WindowMaster worked closely with the design team in conjunction with both M&E consultants Hoare Lea (www.hoarelea.com) and the architects Scott Brownrigg (www.scottbrownrigg.com) to produce bespoke schemes for two schools based on the NV Advance™ control system.
Rokeby School is being rebuilt on a new site while Lister School is being rebuilt on its existing site. Both schools, along with six others in the first phase of the construction programme, are due for completion in 2011. Because both schools are in urban areas, noise entering class rooms through open windows was a major issue.
WindowMaster undertook acoustics studies to determine the optimum times for opening and closing the windows. Sales manager Carl Sutterby explained: “The issue with noise was dealt with by allowing the windows to be opened between lessons and at class changeovers, negating the need for opening windows during lesson time in the classrooms where noise could be a problem.
“The remaining classes were able to operate under normal NV Advance control according to the CO2 and temperature requirements using the advance programming capabilities of the system.”
WindowMaster is working with M&E contractor Cofely (www.cofely-gdfsuez.co.uk) to install the system in the two schools. Lister features 541 actuators controlling windows in 91 zones while Rokeby is controlled in two separate areas. The main area includes 180 WindowMaster actuators controlling 55 zones. An extension was added to the original plan which includes an additional six zones controlled by 28 actuators.
Both schools use a hybrid solution combining natural ventilation through facade windows, roof windows and clerestory glazing to the upper floors, and natural ventilation with mechanical assistance on the ground floors.
Carl Sutterby said: “This flexibility allowed the designers to use natural ventilation in areas where noise could have restricted the use of a passive solution.
“The eight classroom extension to Rokeby meant that the actuators and zones added to the system were given new IP addresses and parameters without adding major cost upheaval. This will apply to any new areas added to either school in the future, further demonstrating the system’s flexibility and ‘addonability.’”
WindowMaster, Europe’s largest provider of natural comfort and smoke ventilation solutions, was chosen to provide the window automation systems for Lister and Rokeby schools because of its ability to provide a complete installation, in particular the central computer control system, and a weather station.
The control system understands and knows how the wind speed and direction on all façades will influence the airflow through the windows on each level and location in the façade. WindowMaster determines the Cp values (pressure coefficients) individually for each window by calculating the relevant air pressures from different wind speeds and directions.
WindowMaster carries out computational fluid dynamic (CFD) calculations for 16 wind directions for the specific building and its surroundings. Based on the calculations the Cp values are determined and programmed into the control system, which enables precise control of the individual windows resulting in an optimal indoor climate.
Each zone operates independently of the others according to the specific external conditions relevant to those windows and the internal environment.
WindowMaster’s NV Advance™ window automation system is the only system in Europe that intelligently monitors windows to prevent entrapment as an integrated function of the motor and control system.
If an object becomes trapped in a window and prevents it from closing the amount of current drawn by the motor instantly increases. This is detected by the microprocessor which immediately reverses the motor to release the window, therefore reducing the possibility of serious injury.
The system can be retrofitted on many existing windows as well as being installed on new buildings. It can operate on a broad range of window types, including top and bottom opening, sliding and parallel opening. The system can also be used on windows for heat and smoke ventilation.
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