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At a time when energy costs are rising, a few simple steps can improve schools' energy efficiency, reduce costs and encourage staff and pupils to think green
 At a time when energy costs are rising and the government’s budget for education looks set to be cut by £100m after the next election, the search for new ways to proactively increase efficiency and reduce costs is more important than ever. Research from the Carbon Trust shows that Britain’s head teachers could wipe a massive £70m off school energy bills by making their schools more energy efficient. When you think that those savings could fund around five million text books the business case for carbon reduction becomes clear.
Clearly, if schools use less power, they will spend less money on their energy bills. Not only that, but by reducing their carbon emissions and improving their environmental performance they will fare better in the government’s Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) programme which comes into force in April 2010.
Carbon Reduction Commitment
The CRC is a mandatory scheme that targets carbon dioxide emissions from large public and private sector organisations, which use more than 6,000MWh of electricity per year. Emissions from state-funded schools in Great Britain are included in the scheme through their local authority. At the end of each year, the performance of participants in the scheme will be summarised in league tables outlining the best and worst performers in terms of carbon emissions. The revenues generated through the initial sale of credits will be recycled back to participants from government, plus or minus a bonus or penalty dependent on their place in the league table. With schools included in the scheme under the responsibility of their local authority there is a clear financial incentive to reduce carbon emissions from both the local authority and the schools in the area.
The good news is that implementing a few simple techniques can help to reduce the amount of energy consumed in a school, and in doing so release funding for use elsewhere. Costs can be reduced significantly using simple energy saving procedures, such as setting appropriate temperatures and ensuring that heating equipment and controls are operated and managed correctly.
So, with the Carbon Reduction Commitment around the corner and the need to maximise any opportunity to save energy and cost, what actions can schools take to make energy efficiency savings?
Top tips for energy efficiency
- Check your heating system operating hours meet the times when heating, ventilation and cooling are required, as needs vary throughout the day and at different times of the year. Also check that building energy management systems are operating properly
- Place heat emitting equipment such as printers and photocopiers in a naturally ventilated area
- Purchase equipment with running costs in mind. Equipment that automatically switches off (such as pan sensors on hobs or lighting) can save as much as 25 per cent on energy costs.
- Switch off all IT equipment when not in use and enable power down modes to reduce energy consumption and heat production
- Switch off monitors – this will save 60 per cent on the energy used by a PC during break times when it’s not in use
- Consider renewable energy technologies to generate power and heat
- Use a pool cover on swimming pools – this can produce tens of thousands of pounds through reducing the need for heating
- Do not switch on catering equipment too soon. Label equipment with its pre-heat time and educate staff to turn on only when needed
- Switch off lighting when not in use – place ‘switch off’ stickers above light switches and put posters up in classrooms.
- Switch water coolers and vending machines off at nights and weekends
- Set default printing to double sided where possible and try to print in batches to allow the machine time on standby
- Involve staff and pupils by developing an awareness campaign to encourage and incentivise energy efficiency.
Case study
One school that is reaping the benefits of energy efficiency is Thomas Alleyne’s High School in Staffordshire. When the school wanted to become more sustainable, it asked the Carbon Trust to conduct a free carbon survey, which highlighted a number of areas where efficiency savings could be made, and developed an action plan to help the school put them into practice. To date the school has put 60 per cent of the Carbon Trust’s suggestions into action including installing a cover on their swimming pool to prevent heat loss, replacing old windows with double glazing and installing monitoring devices to keep track of its energy consumption. As a result of this activity the school is already saving over £11,000 a year, at today’s prices, and has cut its annual CO2 emissions by 114 tonnes.
The Carbon Trust offers free on-site surveys to schools with an energy bill of over £50,000 per annum. During the survey a carbon expert will visit your school, and work with you to develop an action plan to reduce your energy use. Similarly, smaller schools spending under £50,000 annually on energy can access free, practical advice from the Carbon Trust website and advice line.
Whilst there are many quick, low-cost ways of reducing energy use, assistance is also at hand when it comes to taking your school to the next level by replacing old equipment, such as boilers with new energy efficient equipment. The government, in partnership with Salix, the Carbon Trust’s public sector funding body, is providing £51.5 million in interest-free loans to help schools and colleges replace old equipment with modern energy efficiency equipment.
Energy efficiency loans
Interest-free Energy Efficiency Loans are available for around 80 different types of energy efficiency equipment, including building insulation, boiler and lighting upgrades, improved cooling systems and IT energy efficiency improvements. The loans are designed to pay for themselves through the savings in energy – essentially providing free funding to tackle energy bills.
Ultimately, energy efficiency savings cannot afford to be ignored. Managing carbon emissions will help schools to cut back on their energy costs and realise savings that could be spent on new books, PE equipment or even additional teaching staff.
Key facts
According to a report out from The Sustainable Development Commission (SdiG 2008: Challenges for Government):
- The carbon footprint of English schools currently stands at 9.4m tonnes of greenhouse gases every year, from heat and power in school buildings, pupil and staff travel, waste management, and the supply chain activities of companies providing goods and services to schools
- Heat and power used in school buildings account for 37 per cent of those emissions, while 45 per cent of them come from getting goods and services to and from schools
- Pupil and staff travel and school transport amounted to 16 per cent of greenhouse gases produced, while two per cent came from waste management
About the Carbon Trust
The Carbon Trust is an independent company set up in 2001 by Government in response to the threat of climate change, to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy by working with organisations to reduce carbon emissions and develop commercial low carbon technologies.
We cut carbon emissions now by giving business and the public sector expert advice, finance and accreditation to help them reduce their carbon footprint and to stimulate demand for low carbon products and services.
Since 2001 we’ve helped UK business save over 17 million tonnes of CO2, and more than £1billion. These savings will double by 2011 as we give support and advice to even more UK businesses.
In 2008 alone the Carbon Trust supported half a million UK businesses, saving companies over £200 million from their annual energy bills and cutting up to 2.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from their annual emissions. For more information
To find out more information about the Carbon Trust’s surveys and interest free loans call 0800 085 2005 or visit www.carbontrust.co.uk/schools |
