HIGHER LEARNING

CHANGING TIMES call for changing attitudes, and long gone are the days when we purposely subjected ourselves to the full force of the sun. There is, however, much to be said for getting out in the fresh air and sunshine especially if you've been stuck in a classroom for most of the day.

The conundrum then is how do we take full advantage of the great outdoors without suffering any ill effects? For Parnell College, the solution was to install a LouvreTec opening roof system above the outdoor area of the cafeteria, says LouvreTec Products owner and managing director Bill Collins.

"The first challenge was the sheer expanse involved, which resulted in the incorporation of five separate spiral 180 classic systems into one homogenous unit."

The college specified for the unit to be controlled uniformly, so a direct-wired automation system was installed to open each of the roofs at the same time.

Each of the roof spans is 3.4m, resulting in a single expanse of more than 17m. Because of the size, standard guttering was not an option, so larger trough gutters were substituted. A sensor was also installed to operate the system remotely when it starts to rain.

Safety considerations necessitated the integration of the system with the fire alarm. Should the alarm be triggered the roof opens automatically, overriding any other controls, such as the rain sensor.

"There are other automated controls that we can install on any of our opening roof systems, including wind and sun sensors," says Collins.

Prevailing weather conditions play a vital role in determining the type of opening roof system suitable to each job. As such, each system is custom made to site specifications, up to a single span of 3.9m for low wind zone areas.

For further details, contact LouvreTec Products, 23c Douglas Alexander Pde, Albany, Auckland, phone (09) 415 4949, freephone 0800 568 8737. Email: info@louvretec.co.nz or visit the website: www.louvretec.co.nz.

Story by: Trendsideas