Here at RDM Electrical & Mechanical Services, we’re delighted to have secured a contract with Swansea Council for a £214K full boiler house upgrade and replacement at Pontarddulais Comprehensive School.

The work, which we are due to commence on 19^th July, will remove the school’s out of date heating boilers and water heaters, replacing them with a modern, energy-efficient system, which will improve the school’s carbon footprint and reduce energy costs.

The installation will include a new Building Management System (BMS) which automatically controls and monitors the plant (ensuring maximum efficiency) and new ultra-efficient LED lighting within the boiler house to further reduce energy usage and costs.

The new boiler plant will also utilise inverter driven pumps – an energy saving technology that eliminates wasted operation and maximises efficiency by controlling motor speed.  For example, if you reduce the speed of the pump by 20% you can achieve a considerable 50% energy saving.

The other benefits of this technology are to prevent costly maintenance and down time by protecting pipe work from damage caused by water hammer – a phenomenon that can occur in any piping systems where valves are used to control the flow of liquids or steam.

The new pumps will avoid damaging pressure surges or high-pressure shockwaves occurring through the system, significantly reducing ongoing maintenance costs.

With Government targets for the UK to be Carbon neutral by 2050, the education sector is seen as one of the major areas to address.

A report by the Sustainable Development Commission on carbon footprint for schools suggests that there are several methods of approach to reduce carbon footprint in schools, with an easy win being the replacement of – in the case of many educational establishments – old and inefficient boiler and heating systems.

Based on an input-output methodology, UK schools are estimated to produce 9.245 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum. This is 1.32% of total UK emissions. Of this amount, secondary schools produce 4.374 million tonnes, primary schools 3.681 million tonnes and other schools 1.190 million tonnes.*

This is all before you take into account things like travel to and from the school. So, with figures like these, it is obvious that replacing old and out of date heating systems is one of the first things that should be considered as a very straightforward move towards lowering schools’ carbon emissions.

Along with common sense solutions like reducing paper consumption, encouraging active travel, recycling, switching off electrical appliances, computers and lighting when not in use, replacement of old heating and lighting systems with sustainable, efficient alternatives is proven not only to reduce carbon emissions and fuel costs, but improve the indoor environmental quality of the building.

Studies have concluded time and again that such improvements – when made in an educational setting – can improve learning performance significantly.

If you would like to find out more about how updating your building’s heating and lighting systems can reduce carbon emissions and fuel costs, and improve its indoor environmental quality, contact RDM Electrical & Mechanical Services on 01792 701 256 or email info@rdmems.co.uk

*Source: UK Schools Carbon Footprint Scoping Study for Sustainable Development Commission by Global Action Plan, Stockholm Environment Institute, Eco-Logica Ltd.