Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, Darlington

Type of works: supply of an EcoCooling wet box system (ECPWB).

Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College is a mixed sixth-form college for students over the age of sixteen. The College was established in 1970 on the site of the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, which was founded in the sixteenth century, possibly earlier. The college has a number of facilities, which require cooling and wished to use an environmentally friendly and low-cost alternative to refrigeration-based air conditioning.

A large room in the centre of the college was converted into an IT suite. A small air-handling unit was installed as part of this development but proved to be under capacity which resulted in uncomfortable conditions. An EcoCooling wet box was used in conjunction with a high-pressure fan to address this problem. The increased flow rate and the facility to cool the air when the ambient temperature exceeds 15°C provides a complete ventilation and cooling solution. All of the existing air handler and ductwork was retained.

This is a low-energy alternative to putting a refrigeration-based cooling system into the air handler.

An EcoCooling design program is used to specify wet boxes. It is important to maintain the correct air velocity over the Munters CelDEK pads to prevent droplet formation and achieve the desired evaporative cooling efficiency.