Background
Hadleigh Community Primary School first contacted Groundwork as part of the Net Zero Suffolk support service, an environmental contract being delivered by Groundwork in the region. They wanted to investigate ways to improve their energy efficiency and, following conversations with our Sustainability Consultants, it was decided that the school would benefit from an energy audit.
Dominic, one of our Sustainable Business Consultants, visited the site to get a better understanding of the workings, building fabric and energy use behaviours. From here, he calculated their carbon footprint and suggested ways of reducing it, saving energy and money along the way.
Initial observations of the school
Hadleigh Community Primary School was constructed in the early 1900s and has been continually extended up until present. This has led to different areas of the school to have different levels of insulation, glazing, heating and lighting.
The school had never had an energy audit or calculated their carbon footprint before but now have a baseline to improve upon year on year.
The key areas that could be improved to improve the schools energy efficiency were:
- New roof insulation
- Double glazing upgrade
- New heating system
- Solar PV
- Battery storage
- Behavioural changes
Energy efficiency measures
The following measures are currently being considered by the school to improve their energy efficiency. The Groundwork team have calculated the estimated reduction in carbon emissions for each option to help guide their investment choices. These are as follows.
Roof Insulation
Upgrading the roof insulation to modern standards was estimated to save of 16.3tCO2e.
Double Glazing Upgrade
Upgrading the remaining single glazed windows to double glazing in the old school could result in estimated savings of 0.8tCO2e.
Heating System Upgrade
One of the new outer buildings already benefitted from an Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) so the neighbouring new outer building appeared a good candidate for the same heating system.
It was estimated that an ASHP could save 0.9tCO2e.
Solar PV and Battery
The school already benefitted from solar panels which were installed in 2012. There was still viable roof space available for new, modern solar panels.
It was estimated that additional solar panels could save 1.4tCO2e and a solar battery could save a further 0.6tCO2e.
Behavioural Changes
Groundwork consultants supplied information to the school on how to reduce their carbon footprint by changing the way staff, visitors and pupils interact with energy. This was estimated to save a further 2.7tCO2e.
Mrs Jackie Kitchener, School Business Manager added,
“It has been really helpful to have the impartial advice from Groundwork’s consultants to support us to work out what’s right for us and what steps we can take to reduce our energy costs and emissions”
If you’re a business in Suffolk looking for free support, funding is still available through the Net Zero Business scheme, to see if you’re eligible email:
For those businesses who don’t qualify, Groundwork’s Sustainable Consultants can support with a number of value-for-money energy efficiency services.
