Energy Management in Schools – what’s your view?
Posted: May 14, 2013 by John G , Category:Environment, Research & Development
According to the Carbon Trust, UK schools could save around £70 million per year by reducing their energy costs, which would equate to reducing CO2 emissions by up to 300,000 tonnes. You don’t have to have done well at maths class to figure out that these are pretty substantial savings…
Getting the energy management of our schools right has multiple benefits. Firstly, the savings on energy bills for schools will free up much needed funding for educational resources such as extra teachers and assistants. Spending money on bills or extra resources for our children? It’s a no brainer.
By introducing new saving measures in schools we also have the opportunity to educate a new generation of children about energy efficiency and the earth’s resources, giving them firsthand experience of an energy aware culture. All the while cutting down on our carbon emissions and combating climate change in the process – bonus!
All these benefits brings me nicely on to VerySchool, a European Competitiveness and Innovation (CIP) funded project that the IES research & Development team have been involved in since last year. The aim of the project is to develop customised energy savings strategies and ICT solutions for schools across Europe. It will do this through the integration of Smart LED Lighting, Smart Meters, Building Energy Management Systems, Energy Simulation Software, and Energy Action Management Software. The integration of these technologies will be conducted under the guidelines and practices of ISO50001 (energy programs) and IPMVP (measurement & verification) and will be called the VERYSchool Energy Action Navigator.
The project is already under way with four chosen Pilot Schools. These schools are the starting point in evaluating the benefits of the VERYSchool project in terms of energy efficiency savings and carbon reduction.
But for VerySchool to truly succeed in making an impact on EU schools we need your input. We want to understand the current level of confidence school managers and decision makers have in the Energy Management Programme. You can help us by completing this online questionnaire and passing it on to anyone you know that could help us understand how Energy Management is performing in EU Schools.
You can also keep up to date with the progress the project is making by signing up to the VerySchool newsletter here.
