School's energy consumption cut by 38%
Rye Hills School in Redcar is saving more than £500 a year on energy bills as a result of a project to upgrade its lighting with energy-efficient technology from Tamlite Lighting, using government-backed, interest-free funding.
A busy Redcar school with a 900-strong student body and a clear commitment to high standards. However, until recently it also bore another, less positive tag: the school was the biggest producer of carbon in the whole of its county – responsible for more CO2 than any other local school. Understandably, finding ways to cut carbon was therefore high on the agenda.
With budget restrictions beginning to bite, changes were also needed in order to lower maintenance needs and reduce energy bills at Rye Hills. The school’s, Director of Facilities, Stuart Smith, was proactive about identifying energy-efficient improvements that could be made. These improvements ranged from building controls to variable speed drives for the air handling units, but lighting also emerged as a key area where energy could be saved.
The energy-hungry,old-style fluorescent lights in corridors and the sports hall were left on continuously between 6:30 a.m. and 9 p.m., regardless of whether these spaces were occupied. it was a priority to upgrade the lighting to modern equivalents and use sensors to eliminate the old practice of lighting empty spaces.
The school was able to secure interest-free funding for the lighting upgrades from Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council’s carbon management fund and the government-backed Salix Finance scheme.