Team work delivers energy savings at St Aidan’s Community School

St Aidan’s Community School took control of energy use by availing of Energy in Education courses.

Background

St Aidan’s Community School, Dublin 24, decided to take control of their energy use. They attended an Energy Management Training Course and subsequently availed of the Advice, Mentoring and Assessment service from SEAI.

The project

A team of four teachers at the school set about leading the implementation of a range of energy management measures. This involved a ‘Switch if off campaign’, appointment of students as energy prefects, and introducing an Energy Awareness Week at the school.

The school also engaged an SEAI Energy Advisor who identified energy saving opportunities during a school site assessment. These included to:

  • Turn off equipment after hours as electricity bills indicated that 39% of energy consumption was at night
  • Close photocopier lids so they go into standby mode
  • Consider purchasing and installing a simple electricity monitoring system
  • Insulate valves on pipework in the boiler house
  • Install thermostatic radiator valves on radiators in non-teaching areas
  • Upgrade lighting to be to more efficient, dimmable and motion sensor controlled
  • Consider installing daylight sensors to switch off lights when day light levels are high enough
  • Insulate attics to a depth of 250 to 300 mm
"The level of knowledge and efficiency of the assessor was outstanding. We are delighted with the results. We are excited about continuing our changes and saving even more. I think the process is really beneficial to schools and I would recommend it to any school."
Elizabeth Tierney, Chaplain, St Aidan’s Community School

Results and key achievements

In a matter of months the school has seen a monthly reduction in electricity bills from €5,000 to €2,000. This represents a 42% energy saving. The school are also looking at a lighting retrofit with an Energy Services Company that will recoup costs through energy savings over a 5 year period.

Get involved

The Energy in Education programme offers a range of supports to help schools to improve energy management practices, reduce operating costs and protect the environment.

Sign up for a free training course to find out how you could save money by better managing your school’s energy use.

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