Air Conditioning in Classrooms – Should it be a priority?

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Air Conditioning in Classrooms – Should it be a priority?


Air Conditioning In Classrooms

Last summer Australians faced their hottest summer on record. That’s right – hottest summer ever. As temperature records were smashed, many office workers indoors retreated into air conditioning comfort but spare a thought for kids in most Brisbane schools who sweltered in boiling classrooms.
Non-air conditioned offices are hard to imagine in this day and age and are considered a necessity for comfort and concentration in a work environment. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for our classrooms – also a workplace of sorts.

Principal associations have called for every classroom to be air conditioned in Queensland, not those in the far north and west, and as temperatures continue rise each summer air conditioning has gone from being seen as a luxury item to be considered a necessity in many parts of Australia – Queensland included.

Here at H&H Air Conditioning we advocate air conditioning in classrooms as a proven solution to combat the intense summer heat which can impact on learning and concentration.

While some people might say that they battled through their schooling years without air conditioning classrooms, in an era where we are fighting to improve the education system for our kids, surely the environment that our kids learn is as equally important as learning materials like textbooks and investing in teachers.

Reasons why air conditioning in schools should be prioritised

•    Studies show that cognitive and concentration levels decline significantly once a room reaches 28 degrees affecting children ability to learn and engage with new material.

•    Greater flexibility for teachers to schedule more mentally demanding lessons during the hottest parts of the day

•    Older adults and young children are particularly more vulnerable to health risks from excessive heat

•    Teachers would be able to do their job more effectively. Kids will even look forward to returning to the classroom for respite on a hot day after being outside during breaks

•    Students who enjoy air conditioning in their school have an unequal advantage over their counterparts who do not have the benefits of air conditioning

Disappointingly the state government in Queensland is yet to commit funding to go to air conditioning for all classrooms, however many schools are implementing fund raising initiatives of their own.

One thing for sure, this is a hot topic and as another fierce summer approaches we can be sure this issue is going to heat up once again, forcing policy makers to act.

As the commercial air conditioning specialists, H&H Air Conditioning  are one of south east Queensland’s leading air conditioning companies and have completed comprehensive air conditioning solutions for many projects including in learning environments. We can provide comprehensive climate controlled solutions for classrooms using ducted or more affordable split systems. To find out more contact us here or call (07) 3276 1800 today.