The technology to future proof school buildings

Stacey Lucas, president of the Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA), reveals how building energy management systems hold the key to decarbonising the school estate while providing more productive,  comfortable and sustainable learning environments

While the provision of the finest educators, equipment and curriculum is imperative for the education and development of the young people of today, the impact of the building environment can often be overlooked. 
Indeed, with average global temperatures rising at an alarming rate, the way schools and educational facilities are designed has never mattered more. Even more so when you consider that extreme temperatures can have a substantial impact on a student’s cognitive function. 

Put simply, designing an effective learning environment isn’t just about ensuring students and teachers are comfortable; it’s equally about the creation of spaces that support and bolster productivity and wellbeing. 

Improved academic performance

Designing learning environments that utilise natural light and optimise air quality and acoustics – either in new premises or as part of significant retrofitting projects – can enable much greater concentration and information retention in students.
High-quality air, natural light and well-designed environments that are inspiring, engaging and tailored to students’ needs have been found to improve attention spans and encourage higher-order thinking skills. 

Reduced stress and enhanced mental wellbeing

While many students enjoy education and thrive at school, others find the learning process stressful, negatively impacting their mental health and wellbeing. Effective design and implementation of innovative technology that can improve air quality, ensure more natural light and increase comfort therefore has a crucial role in combatting this.  

In fact, the design of aesthetically pleasing, calm and comfortable learning spaces contributes to a positive mindset, fostering emotional resilience and – as a result – reducing stress and anxiety. 

Minimised health issues linked to poor air quality

One of the biggest challenges to education is poor concentration. While there can be many reasons why students aren’t retaining information or paying close attention to the teacher, learning environments that have poor air quality and ventilation are often the cause. 

In addition to more efficient ventilation and air conditioning systems helping improve concentration, it would also help to minimise other health issues, such as drowsiness or headaches. This is supported by research from the National Library of Medicine that revealed a significant association between headache incidence and prevalence and the occurrence of air pollution. 

While enhancing air quality, lighting, heating and ventilation can significantly enhance student and teacher comfort, it also has the added benefit of improving the facility’s energy consumption. 
 
This is vital, given the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy suggests around 36 per cent of total building emissions from the UK public sector are attributed to schools and colleges. 

This is where BEMS can play a crucial role here. Able to be seamlessly integrated into a building, either part of a retrofit project or in a new build, BEMS monitor, control and optimise how a building performs. 

Utilising a combination of software and hardware, BEMS helps facility managers control and manage heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), lighting and energy meters to create healthier and more comfortable environments while significantly reducing energy consumption.

Enhanced air quality

Through the integration of air quality sensors with automated controls for air conditioning, heating and ventilation systems, BEMS enables facility managers to make real-time adjustments to ventilation and filtration rates. 

By monitoring and automatically adjusting ventilation based on CO2, humidity and pollutant levels, BEMS ensures healthy environments for pupils, teachers and other staff while reducing drowsiness and improving focus. 

Comfortable temperatures

Providing facility managers with the crucial information needed to make informed decisions on appropriate temperatures, BEMS plays a vital role in improving student and teacher satisfaction and productivity. 
Allowing for area-specific and occupancy-based temperature adjustments, this innovative system enables personalised comfort and utilises sensors to maintain consistent temperatures and comfort levels throughout. 

Comprehensive lighting control

Fully implemented into a building’s infrastructure, BEMS works closely with natural light levels and sensors to automatically 
adjust lighting based around occupancy and usage. 

Being able to closely monitor and control lighting in this way enables the full scheduling of lights for building use, optimising energy consumption and reducing wastage to help facility managers and property owners save vital money. Additionally, ensuring consistent and appropriate lighting levels can also enhance occupant comfort and improve safety throughout the building.  

Energy data monitoring and analysis

While BEMS are a highly effective tool in automating system operations, they also offer the added benefit of providing facility managers and building owners with the critical information required to shape energy consumption strategy moving forward. 

This data-driven decision making ensures those in charge of building management have complete control over every aspect of the facility’s energy performance, not only identifying and managing peak energy demands but also optimising the efficiency of each individual system. 

Of course, having oversight of the systems and equipment in this way also ensures any inefficiencies or potential issues are spotted early and dealt with proactively. 

Suitable for new builds

As with any building, designing schools with both now and the future in mind is paramount. With educational organisations and facility managers keen to reduce operational costs and carbon footprints – while at the same time improving climate control to enhance occupant comfort – the early implementation of BEMS and other energy efficient systems and processes should therefore be a crucial aspect of new building design. 

Not only will it mean the school, college or university is futureproofed, and able to meet ever-changing sustainability or building quality standards, it also ensures a comfortable, sustainable and energy efficient learning environment from the outset.  

Ideal as part of retrofit programmes

With BEMS a hugely effective way of cutting carbon emissions, reducing energy expenditure and futureproofing existing buildings across the UK, they have a vital role to play in the nation’s retrofit journey. Especially given estimates in 2023 suggested at least 24,000 school buildings required significant refurbishment or renewal. 

The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard (MEES) also exacerbates the vital need for schools and colleges to undertake significant retrofitting to meet the required Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of ‘C’ by 2028 and ‘B’ by 2030. 

Giving a holistic view of how a building’s systems and services are performing, such as heating and air conditioning, BEMS offers crucial insights into energy consumption that wouldn’t have been available previously. 

Education is, and always will be, a critical part of a young person’s development, heightening the importance of providing them with the most appropriate curriculums, teachers and learning environments. Similarly, ensuring educational facilities are helping to drive the UK’s decarbonisation journey and creating a greener and brighter future through more optimised energy performance must not be overlooked. 

BEMS offer the ideal opportunity to meet both these demands, substantially reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions while providing students and teachers with more productive, comfortable and healthy areas in which to learn and teach.