Climate change is one of the most serious challenges facing the world today. In its recently published guidance, the Education Bureau urged all schools to devise and implement a school-based environmental policy, to strengthen students’ awareness over environmental issues and to encourage their participation so that they can lead an environmentally-friendly lifestyle.

Environmental education can be incorporated into a primary school’s general studies syllabus, or a secondary school’s life and society, as well as liberal studies syllabus. In addition, schools can partner with commercial organisations to improve energy efficiency on school sites, reduce energy consumption, and promote environmental education through the use of advanced technologies.

As climate change becomes an increasingly serious issue, the world is gripped with an urgency to transform its energy use. SEC uses advanced technologies to provide numerous smart energy technologies and solutions, including lighting and other facilities management systems, to improve energy efficiency and build a future that is more environmentally friendly and sustainable.

EC Campus Solution promotes energy savings and supports STEM education

Schools are one important market for SEC programme. With over 2,000 institutions across Hong Kong, schools play a significant role in building an environmentally friendly city. Improving energy management in schools also provides an opportunity to teach the next generation the importance of sustainability and being environmentally friendly.

SEC’s EC Campus Solution provides tailor-made programmes to schools, introducing innovative energy management technologies to effectively conserve energy, whilst at the same time giving students the chance to learn about and implement environmental protection ideas.

EC Campus Solution’s marked achievements:

• Enhancing energy efficiency, saving energy by up to 30%
• Reducing carbon emissions to create a green campus
• Encouraging STEM education to promote environmental awareness
• Creating a comfortable environment to make learning more efficient
• Real-time data for accurate adjustment of environmental parameters
• Automatic adjustment of air-conditioning settings based on indoor temperatures to avoid the need for manual adjustments
• Using Smart Sensor Automation tool to pre-programme settings for different scenarios

For instance, you can configure “Presentation Mode” so that next time when this scenario is chosen, it will automatically adjust the room by turning off lights, turning on projector, and closing curtains for you , thereby saving a lot of preparation time.

Smart Sensor Automation can record energy usage data which can be shown on the display in easily understood graphs. This enhances the visibility of complex data, enables energy savings to be quantified and visualised, and improves energy management.

Integration of technological innovation with sustainable development
EC Campus Solution provides the technologies for energy management and improvements to the school environment, plus a range of STEM-related subject materials for use in schools.

The first step is to provide students and teachers a pleasant learning environment by using IoT devices to control smart lighting, automatic ventilation, and air-conditioning adjustments on the basis of classroom’s occupancy and pre-programmed settings.

EC Campus Solution enables reductions in not only the resources spent on facilities management, but also in electricity use.
In addition, EC Campus Solution also has the ability to monitor air quality.

Studies show that good indoor air quality not only promotes good health in students and teachers, but also improves academic achievement and staff productivity.

The cloud-based dashboard is connected to the school’s IoT network to show real-time data. The root of the problem and its solutions can be found through detailed and accurate analyses to allow students and teachers to work together on adjusting energy use, lighting, and air quality, thus creating an environmentally friendly learning environment that is also interactive. On top of that, EC Campus Solution also has a portal for STEM workshops and teaching materials to give students the chance to use digital technologies and integrate innovation with sustainable development, thus building a smart school.

Building a good learning environment ith primary and secondary schools

Mrs Irene Lai Yuen Shan, Principal of the Pat Heung Central Primary School, says that the school’s co-operation with SEC has helped the school achieve its vision of building a modern and green school site.

The school strives to provide an environmentally friendly, energy efficient, and excellent learning environment.

Mrs Lai believes that SEC makes STEM education accessible in the classroom in a systematic and easy way:

“SEC even provides teaching materials for children, enabling teachers and students to use the specially-designed Campus Solution. The cooperation works really well.”

The AD & FD POHL Leung Sing Tak College is another example of successful co-operation between schools and SEC.

Having constant personnel to monitor the school site’s air-conditioning and lighting facilities significantly adds to the schools running costs. The Smart Sensor Automation tool provided by SEC supports the school’s need for smart controls over air-conditioning and creates an ideal green environment.

The Smart Sensor Automation Programme controls the school’s eight air-conditioning units according to indoor temperatures and humidity, resulting in quantifiable energy savings. The consumption of energy and electricity has been drastically reduced.

(source: Education Media)