Under the German-Lebanese Cooperation, GIZ is implementing, jointly with the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) the Sustainable Facility Management at Public Schools in Lebanon (SUFA) project, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) under the education portfolio of GIZ Lebanon.

FREE energy conducted and completed Energy and Indoor Environment Quality Audits on 6 public schools across Lebanon. The scope of work entails a first assessment for the school in question, which sets the baseline energy usage as the first step of facility management; in addition to assessing several recommendations that will pave the way towards a green, sustainable school.

The team conducted multiple site visits & took all necessary readings to be able to analyze existing the operational and management characteristics of each school. Furthermore, the team worked on developing reports which highlighted the findings and recommendations for energy-efficient green measures that aim at saving energy and reducing the environmental footprint of the schools, leading to a more efficient and comfortable space for the students and teachers.

In addition to recommendations for energy-efficient measures, the team conducted lighting & thermal simulations to validate comfort and ensure that all proposed solutions do not compromise students’ and school staff’s ergonomic comfort in the learning environment. Consequently, the systematic approach to the audit involved the measurement of physical parameters (temperature, relative humidity, and concentration of the suspended particulate matter), monitoring of the concentrations of selected chemical indicators (carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and volatile organic compounds), and the measuring and evaluation of the lighting lux levels in the facility spaces. Low lux levels (insufficient light) are a common cause of fatigue and muscle strain which becomes more likely if the exposure is consistent over long periods. The same is true for high lux levels (excessive light). Glare and reflected light can distract an individual and impair their vision.