Schools And Education Facilities Supplement February 2010

Schools and education facilities supplement Case study
upgrading the original fluorescent lighting to T5
ﬂ uorescent tubes, using an adapter kit to retain the
original luminaires and reduce capital expenditure.
Light collection tubes have been fi tted in classrooms,
corridors and cloakrooms of the newest teaching area
to help channel daylight into areas that are not close
to windows. The original tubes proved disappointing
as less daylight was introduced than anticipated but
the school is now investigating a different design with
improved reﬂ ective coatings.
At the suggestion of pupils, areas such as cloakrooms
and toilets have been fi tted with photocells to ensure the
lighting is not on when there is suffi cient daylight.
In fact, the participation of pupils and their parents
has been given high priority from the inception of
the project, in terms of both using the project as an
educational aid and explaining the reasons for the
behavioural changes that maximise energy savings.
design of stickers and posters in art and design classes,
Photovoltaic panels are used
Changing behaviour the analysis of energy data in mathematics classes and
on the school roof.
These activities involve all members of the school themed weeks exploring sustainable practices. The
community, including pupils, parents and governors. latter have included working at BP’s headquarters on
Pupils play an active role through the eco-committee solar energy projects.
and are involved in measuring electricity consumption Pupils are also encouraged to take regular meter
using the ecoDriver software installed for the purpose. readings in their own homes to increase awareness
Real-time electricity consumption is displayed in a and apply what they’ve learned to their own domestic
monitor in the school entrance and on the school’s environments. Consequently, staff, pupils and
website. governors’ families are engaged in competitions to
The monitoring exercise has proved its value in use less than 100kWh of electricity per week in their
several ways. For example, pupils noticed a peak in homes.
consumption on Monday mornings when staff were Future developments include plans to replace
photocopying teaching materials, and challenged the pre-fabricated building with energy efficient
the culprits to adopt less energy-intensive measures. classrooms that use photovoltaics, green roofs and
Similarly, they observed high energy consumption by optimise natural daylight penetration.
the dishwashing machine and were able to persuade The lessons learned are also being shared with other
the catering contractors to use the machine more schools in the UK and overseas, and being included in
effi ciently. some teacher training courses so that newly qualifi ed
In addition, pupils have been encouraged to make teachers will be armed with the skills to implement
‘energy pledges’ that they will encourage the use of sustainability strategies once they are in post.
energy-saving products in the home and not leave
appliances on standby. The school itself has also Making it all work
adopted more vigilant procurement procedures when Building services engineers can do a great deal
purchasing IT equipment. to improve the environmental performance of a
Such behaviours and awareness are further building through the application of their engineering
reinforced through the curriculum, including the knowledge and experience. However, as this project
clearly shows, maximum benefi ts are only obtained
when those designs are operated in conjunction with Key facts
a day-to-day regime that optimises the performance of
Energy target
encompassing all three
inherently effi cient systems, and also has enthusiatic
buildings <100kWh/day
user engagement.
51 per cent reduction in
In the case of Ashley Primary School, factors such
electricity consumption in
as behavioural changes by users of the buildings, fi rst year
greater awareness and even reorganisation of the
18 per cent reduction in gas
head teacher’s workload to enable him to drive the consumption in fi rst year
changes all played a vital role in squeezing maximum
CO2 emissions reduced by
energy effi ciency from the services. In fact, the school 14.4 tonnes per annum
reinforces the vital role that building services engineers
35kW biomass boiler
can play in educating stakeholders and gaining their
11kW solar thermal
buy-in, thus increasing the chances that buildings will
4.2kWp photovoltaics
EcoDriver software is used to monitor electricity use be operated in the way they were designed to. ●
www.cibsejournal.com February 2010 CIBSE Journal 21
CIBSEfeb10_School_pp20-21_Ashley.indd 21 22/1/10 11:07:29
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