Designing sustainable, healthy, and comfortable environments for optimal learning in educational spaces
Australian students deserve the best learning environments. They need places that provide thermal and acoustic comfort as the building blocks of great learning outcomes.
Using our range of sustainable insulation materials in walls and ceilings, under floors and roofs, around building services and in and around the HVAC, we help designers create more comfortable places to learn, teach, and work.
Researchers from Australia and overseas have found that the quality of indoor thermal and acoustic comfort and indoor air quality have a direct impact on the health, learning and productivity of students and teachers.
A field study conducted in secondary school classrooms in Sydney during 2018 and 2019 found that both indoor temperature and CO2 concentration increases students’ feeling of fatigue and decreases their ability to concentrate.1
A study performed in Australian primary and secondary school classrooms found that children feel comfortable at cooler temperatures compared to adults.2
Research shows that classrooms with poor acoustics can mean many students are unable to clearly understand speech in the classroom. They lose concentration and become disconnected from their learning environment. Children who continually miss words, phrases and concepts in the classroom are significantly disadvantaged.3
Other research shows that in a noisy environment, teachers’ health and wellbeing may suffer as they need to constantly raise their voice to be heard.4
At Fletcher Insulation we’ll help you specify the optimal insulation materials for use in your educational building projects.
Our aim is to support better design of educational facilities by providing solutions that significantly contribute to:
an optimum environment in which to study and learn
a healthier indoor environment for all students, teachers and staff
reduced energy usage to control costs and environmental impact
higher Green-Star ratings and WELL certification
safe, fire-resistant construction systems.
A holistic approach to creating positive learning environments
Better building design can lead to improved learning outcomes. We take an integrated approach to building insulation through critical thinking and a technically sound understanding of acoustics, indoor thermal comfort, air quality, and fire safety requirements.
Minimising unwanted noise
Hearing and listening are essential for learning. In primary school, children spend around 45 to 75% of their time in the classroom listening to their teacher and interacting with their classmates.5
But noisy classrooms can be a problem for both students and teachers.
One New Zealand survey of teachers found that noise generated within a classroom is a problem.
High ambient noise levels and reverberation can reduce listening comprehension, speech intelligibility, and language development. Children miss out on words, phrases and concepts. This can lead to real disadvantage, particularly where English is a second language. Kids often fall behind. • For older students, where collaborative projects, open-plan classroom layouts, and a high level of interaction is standard, excessive noise can interfere with concentration, learning and academic progress5.
And while the National Construction Code (NCC 2019 & 2022) include minimum sound insulation requirements for walls and ceilings, these guidelines do not specify detailed acoustic standards for educational facilities. Designers also need to be mindful that acoustic standards vary between Australian states.
Fletcher Insulation products are designed on the principle that quality acoustic design gives students the best opportunity to listen and learn.
Controlling indoor thermal comfort, air quality and building condensation
Effective learning happens when students and teachers are comfortable with their surroundings.
A classroom environment that’s too hot or cold, has inadequate ventilation and poor air quality is uncomfortable, can interfere with a student’s concentration, cause fatigue, and result in serious damage to their health and wellbeing.
There’s some evidence that, unlike adults, younger children learn better in classrooms with cooler temperatures6. According to one UNSW researcher: ‘Improving indoor thermal and environmental quality is as important as improving the teaching material in the classroom7.’
We’ll identify which systems work best in different climates, avoiding interstitial condensation – which can damage the building fabric and structure. Fletcher Insulation provides product solutions to optimise your project’s thermal comfort, condensation management, and indoor air quality requirements.
Protecting people and buildings from fire
A building that’s designed to be fire-safe uses passive fire protection strategies to prevent a fire starting and to slow its progress. In case of fire, they’re essential to protect both property and people.
Insulation installed in external and internal walls, floors, ceilings, roofs, and around HVAC applications, is an integral part of fire safety control. Ensuring National Construction Code (NCC 2019 and 2022) compliance is non-negotiable. But building owners also need to consider standards and minimum requirements imposed by insurers. Choosing insulation that fails to fit these specifications could mean higher insurance premiums.
In educational institutions, it is crucial for designs to prioritise insulation made from sustainable, non-combustible or low flammability products that are rigorously tested to keep people and buildings safe.
For the good of the planet
Fletcher Insulation’s commitment to sustainability and protecting the environment does not begin and end with supplying energy efficient products. It begins with our manufacturing processes.
Fletcher Insulation products:
are ODP-free, in both the finished product and in the manufacturing process
contain no harmful levels of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), helping to maintain indoor air quality
are manufactured using recycled materials wherever possible – up to 80% of the glass used in our glasswool insulation production is recycled, transforming a waste product destined for landfill into an environmental defender!
Design decisions for roofing systems can be complex. Designers must be confident that the products they specify address thermal performance, fire resistance, and condensation control. Plus, they need to provide adequate acoustic insulation to meet the needs of different types of learning spaces.
Fletcher Insulation has a comprehensive range of insulation solutions to meet the most demanding environments and performance requirements. One of our most effective insulation solutions is our Permastop® Building Blanket range:
The Permastop range of building blankets feature effective thermal and acoustic properties to reduce heat transfer and minimise the internal reverberation and flow of distracting noise, such as rain on a metal roof.
The Permastop range also enables architects and specifiers to optimise building space. Exclusive to Fletcher Insulation, our R3.6 Permastop Building Blanket, for example, offers the highest thermal performance for a 130mm blanket on the market.
To reduce thermal bridging, we recommend using Roof Razor® combined with Permastop Building Blanket. With minimised thermal bridging footprint, Roof Razor allows full recovery of the insulation blanket between the safety wire mesh and metal cladding. By combining these products, a building designer will achieve optimum thermal performance, meeting or exceeding NCC requirements.
As demand for better condensation management increases, the properties of Permastop Building Blankets help minimise condensation that can form under metal cladding.
External wall insulation is central to managing energy efficiency, regulating thermal conditions within the building, and meeting fire performance regulations. It must also meet the varying acoustic needs of different learning spaces within the building envelope.
Fletcher Insulation’s Pink® Partition range of glasswool insulation features outstanding performance capabilities. With proven non-combustibility and acoustic performance, the product also features a comprehensive range of R-values, densities and thicknesses.
Fire protection, thermal performance and acoustic performance. These are the three major considerations for designers when selecting ceiling and partition wall insulation. Fletcher Insulation’s Pink Partition range is ideal for all types of learning spaces.
Like all Fletcher Insulation glasswool insulation products, Pink Partition is non-combustible. Not only does it protect lives, but it also helps reduce the damage should a fire break out. This also means there’s less disruption to education and significantly lower costs following a fire.
Pink Partition insulation provides excellent thermal insulation properties, with R-values ranging from R1.2 to R3.5. By keeping buildings cooler in summer and warmer in winter, it helps meet the thermal comfort needs of students and teachers.
Acoustic design guidelines from the Association of Australasian Acoustical Consultants (AAAC) recommend internal noise levels, reverberation times, and airborne and impact sound insulation for different learning spaces.
These guidelines cover all types of spaces – from atria to open plan teaching spaces, for primary and secondary schools, for indoor swimming pool areas, and spaces to support the hearing impaired. Fletcher Insulation provides the required insulation for all of these learning spaces outlined in this guideline.
A well-insulated building is the cornerstone of achieving effective and sustainable energy efficiency levels. It’s essential to focus on ensuring that products and services are installed correctly to deliver their promised long term benefits.
