3 ways to increase energy efficiency in schools
According to The Carbon Trust, UK schools could reduce their energy bills by £44 million per year! With most schools…
According to The Carbon Trust, UK schools could reduce their energy bills by £44 million per year! With most schools having limited budgets, it only makes sense to try to reduce these costs. The savings created can be funnelled into other areas of the school, and cutting back on energy use is also good for the environment! In this article, we look at three simple ways to increase energy efficiency in schools and combat climate change!
Energy consumption in schools
Schools are generally large buildings and as such have high running costs. From lighting to catering not to mention heating, energy bills stack up – particularly during winter. The Carbon Trust states that if every school in the UK switched to LED lighting, over £100 million could be saved every year! There are a number of steps schools can take to increase their energy efficiency that are both easy to implement and budget-friendly!
3 ways to increase energy efficiency in schools
The first step towards increasing energy efficiency in schools is to examine your current energy consumption and the biggest areas of energy expenditure. You can then identify any changes you might want to introduce to your school equipment! Let’s run through some of the energy-efficient options you might want to consider:
1) LED lighting
Lighting is one of the biggest school expenses and upgrading to an energy-efficient lighting solution is a sensible first step towards cutting costs. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) have a longer lifespan than traditional lighting and can reduce your lighting bill by as much as 90%! As well as being cheaper to run, LED lights also need far less maintenance due to their long life. This means you aren’t constantly replacing bulbs!
They also have the important environmental advantage of being mercury-free (unlike fluorescent or high-intensity discharge bulbs). On top of this, they create a better environment for students with none of the humming or flickering you can get from traditional lighting. This, and better levels of lighting, help both reading and concentration.
2) Hand dryers
There are typically three options for drying hands in schools: paper towels, traditional warm-air dryers, and energy-efficient hand dryers like the Dyson Airblade™. By moving away from paper towels to energy-efficient hand dryers, your school can save up to 99% each year. By moving away from old-fashioned hand dryer models, your school can save up to 86%. You’ll also reduce your maintenance costs and significantly decrease your CO2 emissions, so switching really is a win-win situation!
3) Propelair toilets
The average UK toilet uses nine litres of water with each flush! Older models can even use as much as 11 litres. By switching to Propelair toilets, you could reduce this water usage to just 1.5 litres per flush. This could decrease your school’s water and sewage bills by up to 60% – a significant saving! The reduction in water and waste processing also make these toilets an environmentally-friendly option – reducing the average toilet’s carbon footprint by 80%.
At Utility Rentals, we’re proud to be a Carbon Trust Accredited Supplier and believe we should all do our bit for the environment! Our energy-efficient equipment is available via our flexible leasing agreements, making it easier than ever for your school to go green! For example, our LED lease for schools means you can upgrade your school lighting without going through a lengthy approval process or applying for Salix funding! Our leases also mean easy budgeting through a series of transparent, fixed payments – with no upfront costs.
To find out more about how to increase energy efficiency in your school, talk to our friendly team!
Tags
Similar Articles
Solar panels for schools: are they worth the money?
With government support for energy bills reducing from April 2023, many schools are looking for ways to cut their energy…
Conserving energy in schools
Every school in the UK has been affected by the European energy crisis. Combined with rising inflation, the increased cost…
