Facilities used as schools, usually make up the largest proportion of heated volume and surface area for local administrations. Depending on the case, the starting conditions may vary considerably, but in general, schools face difficulties such as:

• Safety conditions: school buildings have to be safe for students and staff, but may sometimes have slippery stairs, slippery floors, unsafe windows and doors, or electrical installations that do not comply with regulations.
• Health conditions: mould, insect infestation or ventilation issues.
• Maintenance: school buildings require constant maintenance to ensure that they are in good condition and function properly. If maintenance is not carried out, operational and safety problems may arise.
• Accessibility: they must be accessible to all students, regardless of their physical abilities. Sometimes however, school buildings have architectural barriers that may prevent access for people with disabilities.
• Renovation: school buildings may become obsolete or no longer suitable for the needs of the school, requiring renovation or the construction of new buildings. This can be expensive and can cause logistical issues during renovation work.

Its experience acquired over the years in various sectors enables Gemmo to offer the most suitable technical solutions for every situation, especially when it comes to energy efficiency.

While carrying out its engineering and installation activities, Gemmo never fails to remember its commitment to energy savings and high performance, with the aim of reducing CO2 emissions and improving operational efficiency, while at the same time achieving incisive results especially in the medium and long term.

The most commonly requested objective is to implement energy upgrading solutions with a view to reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Choices for this project shall be made keeping in mind total energy upgrading of the buildings, this meaning both the systems and the building envelope, and special attention shall be paid to the buildings used as schools.

Gemmo makes its extensive knowledge in the field of energy efficiency improvements and infrastructure enhancement available to the school buildings sector. Each project is designed to bring benefits in terms of the environment, energy savings, security, control and supervision, as well as cost savings.

In order to define the optimal mix of works from a technical, environmental and economic point of view, an analysis the various possible design alternatives is carried out for each building, based on the information collected during the on-site inspections, the users’ needs, the characteristics of the building-installation system, and the incentive schemes available.

The works may include.

Works on the building envelope:

• insulation of vertical matt finish walls, either from the inside or the outside;
• attic insulation;
• replacement of existing windows with higher performance windows.

Works for the upgrading of the heating/cooling systems:

• replacement of conventional boilers with condensing boilers and corresponding upgrade of the central heating plant;
• replacement of conventional boilers or condensing boilers with hybrid factory-made heat pumps and corresponding upgrade of the central heating plant;
• replacement of conventional boilers or condensing boilers with electric heat pumps and corresponding upgrade of the central heating plant;
• replacement of circulation pumps in the central heating plant or in the substations;
• installation of thermostatic radiator valves;
• installation of independent air-conditioning systems in the office areas;
• installation of plant supervision and remote control systems;

Works on electrical systems:

• works to replace the existing lighting systems with LED technology;
• works to install photovoltaic systems.