Part of the School Board Viamonde (Conseil Scolaire Viamonde) , the École Secondaire Jeunes Sans Frontières, a French language high school in Brampton, Ontario, achieved LEED Silver certification, aided by a radiant heating and cooling system from REHAU.

Part of the School Board Viamonde (Conseil Scolaire Viamonde) , the École Secondaire Jeunes Sans Frontières, a French language high school, is dedicated to fostering an enriched, student-focused learning experience for its students. This includes providing a comfortable, healthy and sustainably designed learning environment, which was of primary focus during the construction of the more than 90,000 square-foot Brampton, Ontario educational facility.

The building project, which earned the Canadian Green Building Council's LEED® Silver certification and was the first secondary school building to achieve LEED certification in Ontario, incorporated numerous elements of sustainable construction. These included unique indoor spaces integrated with outdoor landscapes, a green roof, maximized daylighting and displacement ventilation in both the 80,000 square foot school building and nearly 11,000 square foot professional training center. To maximize both occupant comfort and HVAC system efficiency, the project additionally incorporated a unique radiant slab heating and cooling system from REHAU.

"To help the school understand the exceptional benefits of a combined radiant heating and cooling system, we supplied a finite element analysis to model the floor construction and resulting floor heating and cooling output," explained Mark Euteneier, president of Klimatrol Environmental Systems, the project's REHAU technical associate and supplier. "The results of this analysis, when applied to energy usage calculations for the school, predicted a significant energy savings due to reduced heating/cooling loads and increased efficiencies of the heating and chilled water sources. Coupled with the system's comfortable, even method of heating and cooling, this analysis made infloor radiant a must-have for the project."

Installed throughout the entire facility, including all classrooms, offices, and the cafeteria and gymnasium, the radiant heating and cooling system consisted of 104,700 feet of RAUPEX® 5/8-in. O2 Barrier pipe and 42 PRO-BALANCE® manifolds that were pre-piped with three-way valves into all recessed manifold distribution cabinets.

The RAUPEX pipe was installed at the ground level in a concrete-embedded, slab-on-grade design, using a counterflow spiral pattern to promote even surface temperatures. To accommodate cambered precast flooring on the second level, the RAUPEX pipe was affixed using RAILFIX™, then covered with a 2-in. to 3-in. concrete layer.

In addition to securing a meritorious LEED Silver certification, the École Secondaire Jeunes Sans Frontières building has also proven itself to be a comfortable, enjoyable learning space for its students. Moreover, the school has become a model for the School Board Viamonde's future building projects, and continues to note considerable energy cost savings.

For more information, visit Greenbuild 2011 booth No. 222N or contact: REHAU, 1501 Edwards Ferry Rd., N.E., Leesburg, Va., 20176. Phone: 1.800.247.9445. Fax: 1.800.627.3428. E-mail: rehau.mailbox@rehau.com. Web site:www.na.rehau.com/heating..

REHAU delivers "Unlimited Polymer Solutions," and is the premium worldwide brand for polymer-based innovations and systems in construction, automotive and industry. The company generates continuous growth through its expertise and innovative capabilities in materials development, systems design and surface technology. Approximately 15,000 employees at more than 170 locations around the world ensure success of the independent, privately held company.
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TO THE EDITOR: Please do not convert REHAU, RAUPEX, PRO-BALANCE or RAILFIX to lowercase. Thank you.