BUILDINGS, MAINTENANCE & REFURBISHMENT
How prefabricated heating solutions can accelerate heat pump adoption in schools
NEVILLE RADFORD, National Education Sector Manager at Baxi, explains how combining a hybrid approach with the use of prefabrication could help schools take the first pivotal step towards decarbonisation.
towards implementing the change that’s needed.
The scale of the challenge involved in decarbonising can also appear a daunting prospect. After all, data from Baxi’s survey shows that the majority of school buildings across the UK continue to rely on ageing fossil fuel appliances and inefficient heating systems. Given that schools require continuous hot water and heating supply throughout term time, many major refurbishment projects are typically scheduled to take place during the summer holiday periods. This puts considerable pressure on schools and their appointed contractors to ensure works are completed within this tight timeframe, when disruption can be kept to a minimum.
Another key consideration that schools must make is cost, both in terms of capital and operational expenditure, with many having limited budgets at their disposal when approaching decarbonisation projects. Of course, ultimately, the aim is to move to a
W
ith 36% of the UK’s public sector building emissions attributable to education, the need to decarbonise the nation’s existing school building stock in line with net zero targets couldn’t be clearer. However, replacing gas boilers with heat pumps is not always straightforward for schools – and this is where a hybrid approach comes in.
The key carbon reduction considerations for schools
For most schools, achieving net-zero carbon emissions is a key goal. Indeed, in a recent Baxi survey of school estates managers, 90% said that net zero is high on their agenda, with 99% reporting having a net zero roadmap in place. This is encouraging considering the previous government had tasked all education settings with nominating a sustainability lead and putting a climate action plan in place by the end of 2025.
Achieving decarbonisation can seem a difficult challenge for many local authority and multi-academy trust (MAT) decision makers. This is often due to the perceived complexities involved in doing so, particularly when schools lack the technical expertise and the data to fully understand their existing energy usage. Having this comprehension is a vital first step
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www.education-today.co.uk May 2025
fully-electric heating system, typically involving heat pumps. However, the reality is that funding can only go so far in this endeavour. As such, many energy decision makers are left wondering what the best path ahead is on their journey to full decarbonisation.
Why a hybrid solution can provide the answer
In schools where upgrading the heating system is a more complex undertaking, adopting a hybrid heating approach – whereby gas boilers are combined with heat pumps – can prove to be the quickest, most affordable and most efficient solution. This is because even integrating modestly sized heat pumps into a school’s existing system can successfully decarbonise a significant portion of a given building’s heat, enabling it to operate far more cost and energy efficiently.
A hybrid approach brings additional benefits to a school’s capital expenditure, considering that many buildings only require a smaller
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