Why should schools consider Utility Rentals over Salix Funding?

If you’re keen to cut your school’s energy bills by upgrading to energy efficient lighting, but don’t have the capital budget to proceed, we are sure it’ll come as no surprise to know you’re not the only one! What school wouldn’t want to reduce their energy costs and carbon footprint by as much as half? Schools in this situation have most likely been advised to consider Salix Finance who provide the public sector with interest free loans for energy efficiency projects. But what you may not know is that there is another, far better, option available from us here at Utility Rentals – well, in our opinion at least 🙂 …

Whilst Salix funding may seem like a great solution on the surface, it is worth bearing in mind that the application process can be complicated, not to mention time consuming. A lot of information must be provided and certain criteria met, before the loan is approved. When applying for a lighting upgrade, for example, schools are required to demonstrate that the energy savings will pay for the project within 8 years. And for academies and sixth form colleges it’s even more complicated, as they are required to apply to the Condition Improvement Fund instead, whilst Academy Trusts are unable to apply at all. This may not seem too problematic, but it is worth noting that in October 2015 the Education Funding Agency published the ‘Condition Improvement Fund – Information for applicants’ document which states that ‘CIF 2015 to 2016 was 4 times oversubscribed. It is expected that there will be similarly high levels of demand this year. Only applicants which demonstrate a high project need and align closely with the priorities of CIF are likely to be successful.’

That’s why at Utility Rentals, we have partnered with Energys Group to develop the UK’s only genuine lighting operating lease package designed for the whole of the education sector (including academies and sixth form colleges), which allows schools to proceed with their lighting projects now, without the need for a lengthy application. After all, every day you wait, your school continues to pay ridiculously high energy bills for your existing lighting – unnecessarily! By choosing a lease package from Utility Rentals instead, your school can benefit from the savings straightaway. And it’s not just savings that energy efficient lighting provides, but better quality lighting as well. The LED products from Energys Group are high quality as standard, with low glare and even light distribution. They offer excellent colour that can be tailored to suit your space – be it warm white, daylight or a cooler tone – plus they have over 50,000 hours of life expectancy.

The Utility Rentals rental agreement process is very straightforward. Schools can choose to structure their rentals over either a 3 or 5 year rental period, whichever best suits them. Plus, all installation and ongoing maintenance charges can also be spread over the rental. But that’s not even the best part! At Utility Rentals, we include a 5 year parts warranty as standard. This ultimately means that if even a light bulb fails, your school won’t have to pay anything at all to replace it, providing you with absolute peace of mind. But as Salix funding depletes, your school is likely to reach a point where you unfortunately won’t even have enough money left to pay for repairs, let alone upgrade to a new lighting solution. We all know how quickly technology advances and energy efficient lighting is no different. With Salix funding, your school will need to go through the application process all over again, when the time comes to replace your lighting. But with Utility Rentals this isn’t the case. At the end of your rental agreement, you can simply upgrade your lighting to the latest technology on a new rental agreement. Thus seamlessly continuing to pay the same annual or quarterly fee out of your revenue budget – it couldn’t be easier!

To find out more about the energy efficient lighting leasing package Energys Group and Utility Rentals can provide, contact us today on 01628 667373. We look forward to speaking to you!