Solar Air Heating Metal Wall Panel Systems

by Jonathan McGaha | April 30, 2015 12:00 am

When seeking a low-tech, low-maintenance solution to optimize energy efficiency at a 900-student, grades 5-6 public middle school in Shrewsbury, Mass., the architecture firm of Lamoureux Pagano & Associates Inc.[1], Worcester, Mass., turned to a transpired solar collector. The addition of the InSpire system to the building also helped to achieve credits in the Massachusetts Collaborative for High Performance Schools.

Approximately 3,800 square feet of InSpire[2] panels were installed on Sherwood Middle School, manufactured by ATAS International Inc.[3], Allentown, Pa. The panels are 0.032-inch aluminum in a Classic Bronze PVDF painted finish.

The concept of InSpire is to preheat outside air before it enters a building, lowering energy consumption and decreasing utility bills. The system provides free, outside air that is essential to both learning and teaching. This is accomplished when the sun’s energy is absorbed by the metal panels, heating the air at the surface. Proprietary engineered perforations in the panels provide a passageway for the air to move through the collector into a building’s duct system.

Kathryn Crockett, AIA, LEED AP, of Lamoureux Pagano & Associates, states: “The orientation of the building

design allowed for a large south facing wall at the gymnasium of Sherwood Middle School. The perforated metal solar collector wall panels gave us the opportunity to draw in warm air through a ducted fan system to supplement the heating loads for the large gymnasium space. With little additional construction, the collector system provided a low-cost, simple approach to energy efficiency that does not require significant owner training or monitoring skills.”

The transpired solar collector provided a solution for increasing energy efficiency, as Crockett explains, “The transpired solar collector was low in cost and had a simple semi-passive assembly made for large south facing walls. Although our project didn’t include a display monitoring system for use as a teaching tool, that feature would enhance the project well, if implemented. As part of a wide-ranging sustainable design strategy for Sherwood Middle School, the transpired solar collector was an important element. To the best of our knowledge, the system is working as designed and performing well.”

Robert Cox, superintendent of public buildings for the Town of Shrewsbury, notes: “There are very little mechanical aspects to this system. There’s not a lot for me to do. It just works. It’s there and I don’t have to do anything special to make it work. When people are talking about green building ideas, to me, green buildings should generate green dollars in the building owner’s pocket. With a transpired solar collector, certainly where there is no maintenance to the system to speak of, it’s going to generate green dollars over time.”

Sherwood Middle School won the 2013 Chairman’s Award from the Metal Construction Association[4] (MCA) in the Education-Primary and Secondary category. The panel of noteworthy architects who acted as judges took note of the dynamic façade, especially the energy savings realized from the system that supplements interior heating.

To see a project video about Sherwood Middle School, and how the InSpire wall panel system contributed to the school’s energy initiatives, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxgBM6Z_t0g[5].

 

Sherwood Middle School, Shrewsbury, Mass.

Completed: October 2012

Architect: Lamoureux Pagano
& Associates Inc., Worcester, Mass.

Contractor: Gilbane Building Co.[6], Providence, R.I.

Metal Installer: Lymo Construction Co. Inc.[7], Merrimack, N.H.

Panel Profile: InSpire[2], manufactured by ATAS International Inc.[3], Allentown, Pa.

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Lee Ann M. Slattery, CSI, CCPR, LEED AP BD+C, is the sales support manager at Allentown, Pa.-based ATAS International Inc. To learn more about InSpire, visit www.inspirewall.com[8].

Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/articles/solar-air-heating-metal-wall-panel-systems/

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