As Australian students go back to school this week, the Coalition Government, through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), is providing over $350,000 to trial renewable powered classrooms coupled with smart technology in two New South Wales schools.

The funding enables Hivve Technology Pty Ltd to build and install two prototype classrooms at St Christopher’s Catholic Primary School in Holsworthy and Dapto High School in Dapto.

“With the average Australian classroom consuming approximately 3800 KWh per year, these trial classrooms have the potential to reduce both energy consumption and costs in our schools,” Minister Frydenberg said.

“They have the ability to not only power themselves, but also generate enough power for two additional convention classrooms, totalling approximately 11,400 KWh per year.”

The portable classrooms, which are fully air-conditioned and have abundant natural light, incorporate solar PV generation, real-time energy metering and air quality monitoring.

Data, collected in 15 minute intervals from a network of meters and sensors installed in each classroom, will enable the schools to actively manage energy demands and control indoor environment quality via a user-friendly dashboard.

“This is a great opportunity for our students to learn about energy production and consumption as well as various exciting technology developments – many of which Australia is at the forefront.”

The prototype classrooms, which have successfully demonstrated functionality in a controlled environment, will be monitored and evaluated over a 12 month period.