Glamox to light Hertfordshire's first carbon-neutral school

The new Hertfordshire Country Council school is being built by Morgan Sindall Construction. Raising the bar on school design, the building utilises the Passivhaus standard to ensure excellent air quality, reduced emissions, and low energy costs. The specially designed school will be equipped with a 175-panel 100kW solar power system, six EV charging points, air-sourced heat pumps, triple glazing, a rooftop classroom, play areas, and a "forest school."

Glamox is providing 430 LED indoor and outdoor luminaires. Indoor lights include recessed ceiling panels, downlighters, decorative ceiling and wall-mounted luminaires, and emergency lighting. The lighting in the classrooms and halls is controlled by a wireless light management system. Sensors built into the luminaires detect the presence of people to activate the lighting and dim down and switch off when people are not present. Sensors also detect natural light levels, providing lighting only when needed - a feature called "daylight harvesting". Outside there will be pole-mounted, recessed, bollard, and wall-mounted luminaires.

"We wanted excellent light quality and low energy use, combined with good value for money. Glamox Luxonic partnered with us at every step. Its people input to the design and worked out the right light levels to meet the exacting criteria demanded," said Sam Stageman, Director, Pentalec. "It's clear that we share the same approach to customer service and a passion for decarbonising buildings."

"Compared to a school that uses conventional lighting, we estimate the installation will use around 80-90 percent less electricity," said David Hunt, Managing Director of Glamox Luxonic. "It is to be hoped that Buntingford First School will become the blueprint for new build schools across the country, a step that could help the UK to achieve its aspirations to be net zero by 2050."