npower Climate Cops - Energy Audits for Schools

We were appointed to support the delivery of npower's energy efficiency Climate Cops programme.

npower's aim was to significantly reduce energy usage in UK schools and improve sustainability through the implementation of energy efficiency and micro generation measures.

We conducted energy audits at circa 350 primary and secondary schools between 2008 and 2010. Following the audits, we produced bespoke reports which outlined options to lower energy usage, cost and carbon emissions.

Tailored recommendations for each school

We worked with npower to develop a format for the energy audits and reports which allowed us to make tailored recommendations which addressed the needs of each school.

When conducting audits we inspected a building and its energy use, and worked with the school to use the Climate Cops programme to raise energy awareness and increase energy efficiency practices. We produced a list of prioritised recommendations and an implementation plan which aimed to highlight cost sensitive recommendations.

The challenges

Conducting a national programme of works requires close project management in order to stay on budget. We had to adapt our approach to each site and to address the differing priorities of each school.

Ensuring consistency across the portfolio of work was a challenge. Utilising a team of energy specialists with varying styles required us to implement evolving quality management techniques.

Outcome

Our audits identified several savings which involved no financial outlay and could be implemented immediately:

• £713,582 of annual cost savings
• 4,336 tonnes of annual CO₂ savings
• 16,129 GWh of annual energy savings

Our team of energy auditors are highly regarded by the schools they visited.

"The auditor was absolutely professional and also excellent at explaining points so we understood. The report is comprehensive and directly useful to our aim of implementing measures to reduce our fossil fuel use. This has helped our journey to become more sustainable because we use the recommendations to reduce our energy use and to teach our children about this" - Primary School Head teacher, North East.