Energy Efficiency on campus

Energy Efficiency Recommendations for Building Upgrades

UWS has a recommended range of energy efficient installations for capital works upgrades.

Sun shading including external sun control devices and screening shall be provided as required by the project to minimize the life cycle costs of air conditioning and building façade systems including soft furnishings such as blinds or curtains.
If windows require blinds for sun control or privacy, these must be specified for supply and installation under the building contract.
The window frame and reveal detailing is compatible with optimum sun control or screening system.
Venetian blinds must not be used.

Specification of light fittings shall be undertaken with reference to the following:

Light fittings should be manufactured from Australian-made components and be approved by the Electricity Authority.
Fluorescent fittings must incorporate power factor correction and be of switch start type complete with fuse terminal blocks and low loss ballasts.
Emergency and exit signs to comply with BCA and Australian Standards AS2293.1 as a minimum.
All new exit signs associated shall be energy efficient LED type.
Selection of any emergency lights or exit light fittings shall be of the plug in type configuration.
Any lamp selection needs to be of a type that guarantees a minimum life of 10,000 hours and sized not less than 10 watts.
Replace lamps with low energy T8/T5 fluorescent lamps as appropriate.

Lighting intensities on the working plane shall be in accordance with the requirements of AS/NZS 1680 Interior and Workplace Lighting.
Design and selection of the fittings shall be such that at the end of the life of the light fittings, it shall not fall below the lighting levels cited in AS 1680 for the relevant type of interior.

A review of the switching and circuit arrangement and Building Management System controls will provide an appropriate lighting/control strategy to allow staff to operate the system out of hours for limited periods of time.
Consideration should be given to the circuit arrangement to ensure a staged lighting shut down.
No space shall be placed in immediate darkness.
Enough light shall be provided to allow safe and easy access to the after hours lights switch.
External, corridor and foyer lighting shall be provided to operate during normal hours of darkness.
This lighting where possible shall be switched and controlled by the Building Management System.

UWS has minimum requirements for air-conditioning and ventilation:

All air-conditioning systems must be designed to meet the requirements of AS 1668, the SAA Mechanical Ventilation and Air-conditioning Code AS 3666 and any other applicable Standard,Regulation or Act.
Air-conditioning system either within or adjacent to the area of the proposed works must be examined to assess the suitability and functionality of these systems for extension, or modification, or to determine if supplementary plant is required.
Testing of existing systems may need to be undertaken at the design stage to determine actual system performance.
Any proposed upgrades must be in line with the master planning scenario of the building in question.

Air-conditioning should normally be provided by the use of air-handling units using water-cooled, chilled water systems.
If it can be demonstrated that required conditions cannot be achieved by use of chilled water systems, other types of systems, eg direct expansion (DX), may be recommended.
The use of direct expansion window-mounted or through-the-wall room air conditioners (RACs) is prohibited, except in unusual circumstances.

Unitary type air-handling systems serving a single room or a small number of similar rooms are preferred over large central station air-handling systems.
Air-handling systems serving more than one floor must not be used, and, single cooling zone systems with zone re-heat should be avoided for purposes of energy conservation.
All air-handling systems must have adequate fresh air drawn from outside the building via ductwork at locations well away from discharges from cooling towers, toilet exhausts, fume exhausts, etc.