Knauf Insulation gets top marks for education

The short answer? A place where students can focus on learning effectively because they feel comfortable, healthy and free of distraction.

Of course, at Knauf Insulation, we can help. We have solutions that can contribute significantly to supporting good air quality, ensuring rooms are at a comfortable temperature or simply by improving acoustics. Here is how:

Sound practice supports learning

Primary school children, for instance, spend 45% to 60% of their school day listening to their teacher and classmates. “If these children are to succeed they must be able to hear what is being said,” says a new report into acoustic challenges facing schools in Australia.

Many countries have national standards, such as the UK’s Building Bulletin 93 ‘Acoustic design of schools: performance standards’, that set out noise levels and reverberation times for schools and cover specific areas such as music rooms, halls, classrooms, libraries, swimming pools or dining areas.

How we help: At Knauf Insulation we offer products that easily exceed the UK’s standards and can all be customised using Heraklith Wood Wool solutions to create systems that meet any noise absorbing requirements.

Educational comfort zones

It is hard to focus on a lesson or lecture if a room is too hot or cold. Extreme temperatures are distracting, uncomfortable and not conducive to effective learning. Students and teachers inevitably perform better in room temperatures that are optimised.

How we help: From Mineral Wool and Blowing Wool to our Green Roof Solutions and Wood Wool, our high-performing insulation solutions are designed to keep building temperatures comfortable.

Clear the air for learning

Indoor air quality at schools is increasingly coming under scrutiny around the world. For example, in North America there is a Children & Schools Certification by Greenguard that establishes air quality and emissions requirements and in France indoor air quality monitoring is now mandatory in schools and nurseries — a measure that will be extended to other educational centres from 2023.

Healthy minds learn more effectively in a healthy environment and since we spend around 90% of our time indoors, it is vital we consider the importance of healthy air on learning.

How we help: Our Mineral Wool solutions with ECOSE Technology are certified by Eurofins Indoor Air Quality Gold label according to Volatile Organic Compounds emissions criteria as well as the Finnish M1 label and Greenguard Children & Schools standards. Both our Mineral Wool with ECOSE and our Heraklith Wood Wool are also certified to the demanding indoor air quality standards of Germany’s Federal Blue Angel eco-label.

Cost of a good education

Schools are constantly looking for new ways to make budgets go further. Insulation saves energy and that means saving money.

How we help: Rather than pouring money into school buildings that leak energy for air-conditioning or heating, our solutions plug wasteful gaps and generate savings over the long-term future. Those savings can be used to improve education.

Safety is a key concern

Fire safety must be a critical consideration in any educational building and our products can help.

How we help: Knauf Insulation’s Mineral Wool panels are naturally non-combustible and are classified A1 according to  the EN13501-1 European Standard. Our Heraklith Wood Wool solutions, meanwhile, are rated A2 for fire safety. As a company we are also involved with different associations that work to make buildings safer.