Elta the Pick of the Crop for Orchards School

When Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council decided to combine two schools and a nursery under a single roof in a new £7million building, it was decided to fit fans and air handling units from the Elta Group to make the building as energy-efficient as possible.

‘The Orchards Federation’ at Cherry Tree, a new 350 pupil integrated special school/primary school in Farnworth, Bolton brings together the foundation stage, nursery and reception pupils from Cherry Tree Primary School, Green Fold Special School and St Germain Nursery in a single, ‘green’ building to share knowledge and best practice for the benefit of all their children.

Main contractors, Frasc Mechanical Services Limited of Walkden in Manchester, fitted each of thirteen, first-floor classrooms with an Elta Revolution SLC315 ” The robust, durable axial fans are fitted with adjustable pitch impellers, factory-set to maximise performance. They also set Elta’s 149-EVFD/18-1 inverter controllers in the ceiling space, complete with potentiometer, enabling staff to have full manual control of the heating and ventilating set-up. On the ground floor, classrooms were fitted with bespoke low profile Heat Recovery Units designed by Fastlane Ventilation Equipment Ltd, manufacturers of air handling and heat recovery units and part of the Elta Group.

The school’s BMS (Building Management System) is programmed to start these various elements of the system on a timing device. In hot weather the Heat Recovery Units are switched to bypass mode whilst the fans on the first floor are set to run backwards (“reverse purging”), to supply the classrooms with cool fresh air in time for the morning start ” a significant contributor to improving the children’s energy and concentration levels, therefore creating an environment much more conducive to learning.

‘The Orchards Federation’ site also incorporates a children’s centre, public library and the youth centre from Wildman Lane. A large format public display screen in the school foyer shows the current power production, total power to date, CO2 saved to date, cost savings to date and other useful information. This plays a valuable role in the children’s education in sustainability, offering a very real, tangible and powerful way of demonstrating a green approach at work.

It is against this background that Elta has developed its approach to Demand Control Ventilation (DCV). DCV is based on the simple concept that an empty room does not have the same ventilation needs as it does when occupied. Building ventilation systems often operate at constant or pre-determined rates (which are often based on maximum expectations) regardless of actual room occupancy. In using the appropriate sensor technology which already exists, DCV supply can be brought in line with demand ” and buildings can be made as energy-efficient as possible.

Elta is part of the £85 million Elta Group, a family of businesses with operations in six countries on four continents which, together with a network of international distributors, provides quality fans and related air movement equipment to customers worldwide.