School improves its energy grading
Faced with the dubious distinction of emitting more CO2 than any other school in the county, Rye Hills School in Redcar embarked on a series of energy-saving measures. They included new lighting that has reduced energy consumption by 38%. The lighting upgrade is based on energy-efficient technology from Tamlite Lighting using Government-backed interest-free funding from the Salix Finance scheme. The school has 900 pupils.
Other energy-saving improvements included building controls and variable-speed drives for air-handling units.
The previous lighting included old-style fluorescent lights in corridors and sports halls that were on continuously from 6.30 a.m. to 9 p.m., regardless of whether these spaces were occupied. There were 200 fittings of 4 x 36 W in the corridors.
The new luminaires have three 38 W tubes, which are dimmed to 10% when there is no-one in the space.
New generation low-energy fluorescent lighting was installed in all the corridors and in the canteen and sports hall. The TREM range of recessed fluorescent modules with T8 lamps was chosen for the corridors and canteen.
In the sports Hall, the HiLux range, fitted with T5 lamps, was installed. Microwave sensors automatically switch off lights when the last person leaves.
Stuart Smith, director of facilities at the school, says, ‘As a result of the new lighting, Rye Hills has achieved significant savings on its energy bills and maintenance costs.
‘Having analysed the energy data, I calculate that we’ve cut our lighting energy consumption by 38%. This equates to a saving of £574.80 every year. The lighting is on track to achieve payback in just five years.’
And the school is no longer the county’s highest emitter of CO2.
