It is Government Policy to reduce energy consumption, Greenhouse Gas emissions and the need for infrastructure upgrading. A key component in achieving this is through the application of good ESD principles from the beginning of the design process.
90% of good ESD is built into a project during the Design Stages.
Energy Efficiency is also an important part of a Whole of Life approach to gain maximum operational efficiency from the building.
The inclusion of active cooling within school facilities is directed by the Department's Air Cooling policy which is included in this Design Guide.
Do not provide Air Cooling Systems in Habitable Spaces in schools except where stated in DoE’s Air Cooling Policy.
Refer to DG / COOLING POLICY
A heating strategy is to be developed in conjunction with a Mechanical Engineer, for each school based on the local environmental conditions to maintain reasonable comfort conditions within each habitable space. The heating strategy is to be developed using Whole of Life considerations and include factors of:
Maintenance costs and servicing costs.
General space heating is to be provided to all habitable areas of school buildings except for corridors, storerooms, dressing rooms and toilets.
Sealed Flued Gas Heaters are the preferred option in general class rooms, however other forms of heating may be required in some rooms for reasons of safety, lack of space or intermittent usage.
Determine heating method for all other rooms, by the relative 15-year life-cycle costs of the system, including operating, energy and maintenance costs.
Life Cycle Costing is to be carried out by the Project Designer or Builder for DDC projects.
As a guide, the minimum recommended number of heaters required in each room is indicated on the example Plan Data Sheets.
Refer to DG / HEATING