Premier Su Tseng-chang’s (蘇貞昌) “air-conditioning for every classroom” (班班有冷氣) project has installed more than 184,000 air-conditioners in all 3,500 public elementary, junior and senior-high schools nationwide ahead of schedule.
Su on Monday visited Heh Sheng Primary School (鶴聲國小) in Pingtung City, where he announced the project’s completion to all 22 cities and counties across Taiwan in a videoconference, saying that he hopes students will be more comfortable in the classroom.
With extreme weather occurring more frequently, summers in Taiwan are also becoming hotter than before, making classrooms without air-conditioning unbearable for many students, whose learning efficiency would no doubt be affected by the heat.
While working at Xin Sheng Elementary School (新生國小) in Taipei, I managed to get air-conditioning installed in classrooms with the help of the parents’ association 10 years ago.
It is good for students and teachers to have air-conditioning in the classroom, but if schools do not plan ahead, once it is on, it could become the start of many problems. Schools need to plan ahead for the following issues before turning on their air-conditioning units.
First, schools should consider the potential energy costs that are attributed to using air-conditioning, as well as maintenance and replacement expenses for the units.
Schools should be able to sustainably meet the government’s policy goals through careful planning. Otherwise, school administrators might quarrel over the fees, as even a good policy can lead to unfortunate results.
Second, schools should install “smart meters” to monitor electricity consumption, to ensure that they do not exceed capacity, and to avoid paying a penalty to Taiwan Power Co.
When the air-conditioning is used, it should be turned on grade by grade to avoid a circuit overload. Different grades can even turn the air-conditioning on and off in rotation to save energy.
Smart meters can also alert schools to excessive power consumption, so they can lower the load in a timely manner to avoid penalties.
Third, when air-conditioners are turned on in the classroom, teachers should pay close attention to students’ health. For example, they should remind students not to enter or leave air-conditioned classrooms frequently, and to wipe sweat off themselves or change their clothes before entering the classrooms after physical education courses or outdoor activities, to avoid getting sick from sweating in the cold.
There might be some students who do not like air-conditioning, and schools should respect their choice, no matter their reasons. Through communication and planning, students who dislike air-conditioning can be seated in places where the airflow is weak, or other arrangements can be made to accommodate them.
Through these efforts, the “air-conditioning for every classroom” policy can succeed, and be supported by parents, students and teachers.
Tsai Jr-keng is a retired elementary-school principal.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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