What is Energy Efficiency Surveying?
Soaring energy costs have shown what an important role energy efficiency can have in helping school leaders reduce their utility bills and do more with their budgets. With spending tighter than ever and decarbonisation becoming a priority, an energy efficiency survey will identify opportunities to reduce your school’s energy bills and its carbon footprint.
Our energy efficiency surveys include a comprehensive audit of your current energy usage and recommendations for the most cost-effective energy-saving measures you can introduce. That could be anything from installing automatic lights and making better use of daylight in classrooms to switching to heat pumps and installing solar panels.
In the meantime, you can read our article outlining the immediate actions that you can take to help improve energy efficiency in schools and academies.
Why are Energy Efficiency Surveys Important?
The age, condition and size of school buildings can make them energy inefficient. That stretches school budgets and gives you less money to spend on improving facilities and boosting student attainment. Some schools have even reduced their teaching staff and cut school hours to help them make ends meet
Energy efficiency surveys can help to turn the tide. They identify the measures you can take to reduce your electricity and gas consumption and improve the efficiency of your school buildings. According to the Carbon Trust, even implementing a few simple measures, such as switching to energy-efficient lighting, can help the education sector reduce its energy costs by up to 20%.
What Do Our Energy Efficiency Surveys Cover?
We conduct a comprehensive examination of all the energy use in your school buildings. We also provide costed recommendations for improvement and guidance on your funding options.
On-Site Consumption Audit and Benchmarking
We consider everything from your lighting and building fabric to the heating and ventilation systems. We also look at your metering, monitoring and energy management practices to get a complete picture of your site. We then combine the findings of our on-site survey with an analysis of your usage and a comparison with similar buildings to fully understand your consumption.
Recommendations and Future Costs
Once we understand how energy is being used and wasted, we compile a report that includes the different energy-saving measures you can implement, along with full costs, expected savings and our recommendations. You can then make an informed decision about the most suitable improvements for your buildings and budget.
Identification of Your Funding Options
We also identify the financial support that’s available to fund your energy improvements. There may be funding routes available through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) and the Low Carbon Skills Fund (LCSF). If you require further support, we can write your funding applications and manage the whole process on your behalf.
How Can We Help?
Our team of more than 60 RICS-certified surveyors and consultants perform energy efficiency surveys for schools, trusts, colleges and academies across the UK. Our in-depth knowledge of the sector and experience with the specific building types enable you to significantly reduce your energy usage.
Whether you operate a village school or a multi-academy trust, our surveys are cost-effective and delivered to your scope and timescale. We can also provide post-survey support where required.
Contact Eddisons Education
Want to find out more? Then get in touch with our knowledgeable team to arrange your free consultation.
