Government and industry have quite rightly set their targets at reducing energy consumption and Carbon Dioxide emissions over the next five years by 20%.
The climate change levy will increase the cost of electricity by 0.43p per kWh and can, depending on Tariffs, represent an increase of up to 20% in the
cost of electricity consumed.
SunPipe can help to reduce this by eliminating the
need to use electric lighting during daylight hours. At the same time the SunPipes offer considerable environmental and health benefits by creating better indoor working conditions.
Enables 4% daylight factor to be provided to suit deep plan classrooms.
No solar gain in summer months, or heat loss in winter as compared to conventional roof lights.
No maintenance inside or out.
Children and teachers work better under a natural light environment.
At least 75% of electricity costs can be saved during the daytime, where SunPipes are used to replace the need for electric lighting during School hours.
Hope Brook School
Longhope, Gloucestershire
Chew Valley School
Bristol
The Lord Silkin School
(Classroom of the Future)
Telford
West Meadows Primary School
Bradford
Centurion Vocational Centre
North Radstock, Somerset
Trinity Primary School
Radstock, Somerset
St Nicholas Primary School
Radstock, Somerset
Jack Tizard School
London
St Josephs RC School
Bristol
The British School at Abu Dhabi Welcomes the Sun!
Monodraught SunPipes have been a huge success in the UK but have also been a great success overseas. In Dubai, Abu Dhabi,
and Bahrain, SunPipes have been particularly successful and although here in the UK, we always assume that countries in the Middle East have unlimited energy, they are in fact very
concerned about their energy use and are very keen to use SunPipes to reduce the amount of dependence on electric power.
One of the oldest British Curriculum Schools in the Middle East,
The British School at Al-Khubairat in Abu Dhabi, is currently completing a third phase of a major extension and has opted for
a total of 70N° Monodraught SunPipe system, which pipe in sunlight deep into the building – but without the attendant problems of solar gain associated with the Middle East. “The
British School” was originally established in 1968 on land donated by the Ruler of Abu Dhabi, His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan
Al Nahyan. The School is sited on a particular piece of headland where in the olden days, the pearl fishing fleets were first
British School, Abu Dhabi
sighted on their return from sea! The area that houses The British School is known as Khubairat, which means “good news”. This was certainly good news for the School! The Mosque located immediately behind the School is the Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Mosque.
The new School extension is due to open this September and the focal point will be a spectacular 12.3m high atrium to the circular Library, which will be naturally lit using a 1,000mm diameter Monodraught SunPipe with 8N° 530mm diameter SunPipes set into a circular recess at ceiling level to provide a stunning and highly efficient natural lighting effect to the Library. The new extension will also house a Theatre, a Drama Studio, and state of the art Music Centre, an additional Gymnasium, Swimming Pool, and 20 Classrooms. Of the total of 71N° SunPipes installed, a large proportion were used instead of conventional skylights to the atrium area of the School. The Architects opted for SunPipes instead of skylights as not only were the SunPipes a lower cost but they also provided far more light than conventional skylights plus the advantage of no solar gain. The Architects for the new Project were the UK practice, Gibb Limited (Abu Dhabi office).
SunPipes consist of a silver plated, mirror finish aluminium tube, which reflects sunlight down into the area below. The Diamond shaped roof dome is sealed to the top of the SunPipe with a special gasket to prevent the ingress of sand
and dust.There is virtually no limit to the length of SunPipe that can be used and adjustable elbows can be used to allow the SunPipe to twist and turn internally, so as to avoid internal obstructions, such as water pipes and services, etc. At The British School, SunPipes of up to 2.8m in length were used and the main feature, the 1,000mm diameter SunPipe, had a length of approximately 3.2m. All SunPipes are totally sealed internally. At ceiling level, a twin skin ceiling diffuser is incorporated with a double glazed 50mm cavity. Monodraught systems are produced with either a white ceiling trim or this can also be provided in a stainless steel or other metal effect. The Monodraught SunPipe systems are highly cost effective and are fabricated entirely in the UK. The design of the system is to eliminate the transfer of solar gain, since the long, tall column of still air acts as an excellent insulator against heat transfer. Not only does the system bring in pure, natural daylight, without glare, but use of the SunPipe systems means that electric lighting is no longer needed during daytime use and this in turn leads to a reduction in the cooling load required, which would otherwise be necessary to remove the heat generated by the artificial lighting. The savings are, therefore, considerable:
saving the cost of electricity that would otherwise be used for electric lighting
saving the cooling load that would otherwise be necessary to remove the
lighting heat load
eliminating the need for maintenance associated with replacement of light
bulbs, etc.
In addition to the energy savings, the benefits to both teachers and pupils is significant. Studies carried out in the USA by Heschong Mahone’s Consulting Group found that in a 1999 Study on three Schools with a total of 21,000 students, students with the most day lighting in their Classrooms progressed 20% faster on math tests and 26% faster on reading tests over the course of the year. These results were confirmed in a further Study carried out in the year 2000.
The Headmaster at The British School, Jim Harvey, said, “I am
very impressed with the light output from the SunPipe systems
and it is really quite amazing the amount of light that they bring
in. The quality of light is far better than any electric lighting, it seems a soft, pure light and doesn’t produce glare. Although the works are not complete yet, the SunPipes already convey a
sense of peace and calm.” Even the tradesmen finishing the Project at the present time have benefited from this natural lighting. The initial lighting levels measured, are around 400 lux
at floor level.
SunPipes have been used fairly extensively in Dubai, particularly
at Rashid School for Boys and Latifa School for Girls where 300N° SunPipes were used. Not surprisingly, SunPipes have been used extensively for Villas, Palaces, and Apartment Blocks throughout the UAE, particularly for bathrooms and dressing rooms, etc., where natural lighting is always the preferred option but security and privacy are paramount. SunPipes are far more secure than
any conventional skylight or rooflight and where so often, blinds are drawn or shutters used on bathroom windows and dressing rooms, the SunPipe brings in natural light completely unhindered!
