Rural School in Santiago del Estero- Argentina, Bioclimatic Conditioning and Evaluation of Thermic, Energy and Economic Efficiency

Abstract

The present work has as object of study a rural state school located in the town of Vilmer in Santiago del Estero, province in the northwest of Argentina, with the purpose of contributing to improve the user`s comfort conditions of this educational habitat. The article is part of a technical advisory agreement, with the relevant state institution General Directorate of Architecture (GDA), responsible for the production of school buildings in the province. The results obtained were: 1) Definition of geographical and climatic conditions, 2) Strategies determination and bioenvironmental patterns selection, 3) Architectonic-technological analysis of the prototype for the bioclimatic adjustment, 4) Energetic evaluation with labeling and its comparison with regulated values and proposals for improvement, 5) Evaluation of construction costs of the both prototypes. In conclusion, it can be seen that in energy efficiency labeling is possible to scale from the lower category -less efficient- "H" -in the case of the conventional state prototype, to an optimal level "C" in the improved school prototype. This level was possible, through the consideration of the following aspects: determining the best orientations for the sunshine, incorporating protections to the carpentries, modifying the components that define the envelope and reinforcing the thermal insulation. The proposals for the improvement of the original prototype are economically viable: their execution involves only a 6% of over cost respect to the total construction price of a conventional school prototype.