Photo courtesy of Tom Arban
Here is a picture of the 3rd floor in the Brown Family House of Learning. One of the contributing factors to the warm, humid air in the building are the air flow vents being placed on the floor. Dirt and debris collects in these vents within a matter of days blocking the air circulation. Placing the vents on the walls would've been a better design when this building was being built.
Hey Itel,
ReplyDeleteI am very impressed and interested with your topic. The energy consumption chart combined with the fact most of us not only walk by but arguably spend to much time in that building. The concept is perfect and I am excited to learn more.
Good Luck!
Itel, I looked into the temperatures needed by some of the specific plants that are on the 'Living Wall' to survive. It is said that those plants require somewhere between 22ºC and 27ºC to survive and grow. From what you say, the average temperature of the Brown House of Learning is somewhere around 23ºC constant, it seems to me that they are keeping the temperature at the lower range of the scale required by those plants, so they probably cant lower the temperature any more. I wonder if they put some different, more hearty plants that may be more native to a canadian climate, or even a costal climate, it would allow them to drop the building a few degrees and save a huge amount of energy. Just a thought...
ReplyDeleteGood point Matt. On March 7th we did a campus wide experiment lowering temperatures 2-3 degrees to see what the energy savings were. Just that slight drop decreased the buildings energy consumption by 20%! The plants in the HOL provide the building with so much humidity that the built in humidifiers are not used. I am surprised they didn't use local plants considering it is our "greenest building".
ReplyDeleteThat is a really good point Itel. I always feel uncomfortable being on the third or fourth floors in the HOL. It is just too humid! That is also another interesting point you commented Matt. It is kind of strange that they would have such plants. Itel do you think they could do anything to do keep the vents circulating air? (removing blockage)
ReplyDeleteThere isn't too much that can be done without extensive renovations to the air ducts and because it is a heated slab floor it might be difficult to even get to them. I will try and explore some other options, Thanks
DeleteThanks for the amazing post Itel, I wonder if its possible to relocate some of those vents. Maybe they could install some cabinetry and place the vent upright against the cabinate wall.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good idea, I know that they could also be put up against the classroom walls. There's about a good 2-3 feet on the bottom of the wall before the glass starts. Something to look into. Thanks Darren
DeleteYa those vents are terribly placed especially for the functionality of the room itself, chairs always get stuck on them and if they get blocked with debris its defeating the whole purpose of having them. I agree with Darren on relocation, it might be possible but highly unlikely since it will cost money to fix. I wonder why they thought putting the vents on the floor like that was a good idea in the first place, maybe due to a lot of residential homes placing vents on the floors? If that is the case then they must not have considered the capacity compared to a residential home. Interesting topic Itel
ReplyDeleteThanks Kristyne. I know, I put my chair on one before and thought I was gonna have a big scene. The material they used was aluminum which isn't very strong for those vent covers. The designers maybe thought it would maximize air flow by placing them in the middle of the room.
Delete