Always and everywhere healthy and fresh air

In primary and secondary education, attention has been paid to good ventilation since 2015. In that year, the Program of Requirements for Fresh Schools was introduced, with specific performance requirements for energy efficiency, air quality and thermal, acoustic and visual comfort. Ned Air has been developing, building and supplying decentralized school ventilation units to meet these requirements for more than 5 years. "This started with a pilot project by an installer friend, where we developed a completely new unit in 2-3 months. In recent years, our services have expanded further and further, and now school ventilation is even our core business," says general manager Wouter Wijma, who expects acceleration in the coming years. Both nationally and internationally.

"Due to the corona crisis, attention to and awareness of good school ventilation has increased considerably," Wijma emphasizes. "The number of applications in this area, however, remains outstanding. For example, the Gezonde Scholen Amsterdam project started early because of the SUVIS subsidy. Just this year six tranches with sometimes several schools were to be implemented, four of which have been postponed to next year. And we see this happening with a lot of projects. From a distance, school ventilation seems easy to implement, but it is a complex process. Schools have to deal with a lot of stakeholders. Also, funding is often a bottleneck. Yet there is also good news: around us, we do see that many projects have been started, to be implemented in the coming years. So the will is definitely there."

Continually evolving

Ned Air is a leading manufacturer of air treatment systems, heat recovery units and roof fans. "From our passion for technology, we create a sustainable and healthy air technology solution for every situation," said Wijma. "In doing so, all parties involved are taken care of. Our range includes various units, which are continually being developed and improved. Not only in accordance with the latest regulations, but also based on insights and questions from the market."

Healthy and sustainable ventilation with the EduComfort 1000

As an example of such a development, Wijma cites the EduComfort 1000 decentralized ventilation unit, which excels in durability, weight and ease of installation. "The EduComfort 1000 is the replacement for the EduComfort 950 and is fully circularly built. For thermal insulation, we chose recycled pressed paper instead of rock wool, while polyester wool instead of glass wool was used for acoustic insulation. This is because polyester wool is recyclable, hypoallergenic and poses no health risks. We also replaced most of the sendzimir galvanized steel with aluminum. Partly because of this, the unit is considerably lighter in weight and can be installed even more easily."

The EduComfort 1000 was developed in close cooperation with installers and clients. "Among other things, this has led to a new and improved design," said Wijma. "Whereas in the past a full design hull had to be fitted around the ventilation unit, we have now managed to reduce this to just two side panels. As a result, additional mounting operations as well as any alignment problems are no longer an issue." Like the other EduComfort units, the EduComfort 1000 is equipped with nozzles/jets systems, which allow fresh air to be blown in draft-free. "Installers can set the nozzles so that optimum air distribution is ensured at any place in the classroom."

Heating and cooling in one system

Unique is also the pleasant climate control, Wijma emphasizes. "In the market, demand is growing for decentralized school ventilation solutions that allow
can be both heated and cooled. This is why we also included this option in our product development. Finally, the EduComfort 1000 fully complies with the applicable installation noise requirements of 33 dB(A)."

EduComfort 675: small and compact

Starting early next year, Ned Air will also supply the EduComfort 675, which has virtually the same features as the EduComfort 1000. Only this unit is a lot smaller. "The compact and economical unit is excellent for pre-2012 schools that want to upgrade their ventilation systems to Class C instead of Class B," said Wijma. "We also expect many requests from special education, where class sizes are often smaller. Currently, the units are also being prepared for export, because there is also a lot of demand abroad for these types of units."

SkyLine: the air handling unit on its side

For schools that opt for central ventilation, Ned Air supplies both standard and custom air handling units, with options for heat recovery, humidification, adiabatic cooling, etc. Here it is even possible to connect the air handling units to a ground heat exchanger. The latest addition to the range is the SkyLine, which was developed after several customer requests where Welstand did not want to see the air handling units from street level. "Air handling units are often 1.5 to 2 meters high," Wijma knows. "In large projects, this height can even reach 3 to
4 meters, while Welstand increasingly prescribes a maximum height of 1 meter. To respond to this, we laid our existing air handling units on their side and inventoried the possibilities. Based on all the findings, we developed a completely new line of air handling units, the first units of which have now been delivered and installed. Initially started with units of 1,000 and 2,000 m³/h, we can now supply units of 4,000 and 7,000 m³/h, with the largest variant still only 1 meter high." Consequently, the SkyLine has been welcomed with open arms by architects. Following the example of several school buildings, the units are now eagerly found in numerous utility projects.