Strictly Education partners with Powercor to support schools’ energy futures

Identifying the best solutions to energy challenges in schools and, ultimately, reducing their energy costs.

The final weeks of 2022 for schools across the country arrived with sub-zero temperatures against a backdrop of soaring energy bills. It is a situation that has not gone unnoticed by the UK Government which has recently announced additional funding for schools to help them become more energy efficient.

The reality is stark. One report has suggested that schools across England could be paying an estimated £1 billion a year for energy they use. The study found that state secondary schools spend more than £161,000 a year on energy. While the findings make for difficult reading, they were gathered from before the main impact of the energy cost crisis hit so the reality now is far worse.

Energy costs show little sign of falling. While wholesale energy prices are falling the majority of the fuel traded is for the future so there is little prospect of the price reductions being passed down to schools anytime soon. The war in Ukraine has had a major impact, not least to drive the UK away from relatively cheap Russian energy.

One academy trust has gone public with the crisis it has found itself in. Richard Evans, chief executive of the Vale Academy Trust, which operates several primary and secondary schools in Oxford and Abingdon, warned he feared his pupils will need to wear their coats in the classroom.

“Looking at our primary schools, each one is facing an increase of £40,000 alone in those costs - heating and staffing,” he said. “And for the secondary schools it’s in the region of £300,000 each, depending on staff numbers.”

New energy-efficiency funding for schools

The Department of Education has announced a new round of funding which will provide state secondary schools with an average of £42,000 and £16,000 for primary schools for energy-saving initiatives. While the funding is a welcome boost, schools need to take a measured and structured approach as to how they will allocate it.

In order to help schools with a decision that has far-reaching and long-term implications, Strictly Education has partnered with specialist sustainable energy company, Powercor in order to work with schools to identify the best solutions to their individual energy challenges and, ultimately, reduce their energy costs.

Powercor has built a reputation for their work with a wide range of schools and educational establishments since 1998, helping them save energy costs and improve learning environments through better lighting and heating solutions.

Powercor’s ethos is that, by measuring, understanding and making simple behaviour changes, a school has the potential to save between 10% and 30% on its energy costs, even before it makes substantial capital investments. All that is needed is the installation of a metering system linked to intuitive software that will enable schools leaders, governors, teachers and pupils to take responsibility for reducing their energy use.

Measurement allows energy issues to be identified, such as a building in the school that is using an unusually high level of energy. This might be because of archaic lighting technology, a window being left open, a fan heater being overly used or a light left on overnight. Only when the issues are clearly identified can steps be taken to tackle them.

Once the school’s current energy usage, and with it its energy requirements, are fully understood, how best to upgrade can be considered. The systems likely to have the most potential to make an immediate difference are solar and LED lighting. Solar investments, whilst they can be significant, now have a payback of just a few years. LED lighting can save upwards of 67% compared to older technology and vastly improve working and learning environments for pupils and teachers.

Working with Powercor, Strictly Education is keen to support schools, MATs and maintained schools to help them become more energy efficient. delivering the systems to identify a school’s current energy use patterns via intuitive software that the schools themselves have access to. advising on the solutions that best fit a school’s individual circumstances with full installation provided by Powercor to an exceptional standard.

Schools have an opportunity to make a tangible difference to their energy future and Strictly Education, with Powercor, is here to help them achieve those aims.

Simply email enquire@strictlyeducation.co.uk, call 0330 123 2549 for an informal discussion or click here to read more.