Search SORTED
Toolkit to getting started
This guidance will help your organisation to reduce unnecessary costs and help to reduce the FE system’s impact on climate change. It explains where and how cost savings can be made, and what the benefits will be for the learners and for the management’s ‘bottom line’. It signposts sources of advice and helpful suggestions that are of relevance throughout the organisation, and that are particularly useful for buildings, estates or energy managers who want to take a more proactive approach to minimising energy costs within their estate.
The Carbon Trust’s Action Plan Toolkit is an excellent starting point for energy savings within your building. It provides advice and publications that take you through the process:
The Carbon Trust also provides support for individual organisations, including:
The first steps to implement energy reduction include ‘top tips’ for easy, no-cost actions, such as:
Despite the strong drivers from fiscal and regulatory measures, and the financial impact of rising energy prices, the direction of energy use from FE system buildings is likely to be upwards for the foreseeable future. This is because educational establishments are becoming more and more energy intensive, particularly because their use of energy-intensive IT equipment is greater, and they use more energy intensive equipment for research. Consequently older buildings incorporate air conditioning or cooling equipment to ensure acceptable ambient temperatures, while newer buildings may incorporate these services as standard. In addition, working hours are often longer, and buildings are used more intensively and, in some cases, for community use outside normal operating hours.
The importance of continuing to improve energy efficiency is therefore critical to minimise unnecessary rises in energy usage. Larger energy users may be able to reduce their energy costs, or obtain grants or loans through which they can make investments for longer-term energy savings opportunities.
There are a number of ways to obtain exemption from the Climate Change Levy: for FE organisations, the most relevant exemptions are applied if energy is provided through a good quality combined heat and power scheme, or if the energy is provided from renewable sources. There are a range of grant schemes that may provide some financial support towards installing these types of installation, such as through the DTI’s Low Carbon Building Programme (external website) or from local or regional funds. Community-related projects may also benefit from the Energy Savings Trust (external website) which has a wealth of information and experience in related areas.
Reducing energy use
There is a wealth of information available on ways to reduce energy use. The starting point for assistance is the Carbon Trust (external website), which provides free, practical help and advice on saving money by reducing energy use. The Carbon Trust’s website contains a comprehensive suite of fact sheets, technical guides, posters and other material. Some guidance is developed specifically for the HE and FE sector.The Carbon Trust’s Action Plan Toolkit is an excellent starting point for energy savings within your building. It provides advice and publications that take you through the process:
- getting started: simple tips to get started on managing energy use and saving money;
- understanding your energy consumption;
- monitoring your energy use; and
- taking action to reduce your energy consumption.
The Carbon Trust also provides support for individual organisations, including:
- Free onsite energy surveys or detailed assessments of specific energy efficiency issues.
- Design advice professional, independent and objective advice covering energy efficient and environmentally conscious building design. The service provides one day of general project consultancy, paid for by a cash-back scheme.
The first steps to implement energy reduction include ‘top tips’ for easy, no-cost actions, such as:
- switching off lights when not in use;
- encouraging staff to switch off computer monitors when they are away from their desks for a length of time; and
- checking thermostat settings are at the correct temperature.
Reducing energy costs
The main barriers that reduce the uptake of energy efficiency measures are generally considered to be lack of capital, lack of staff time and the fact that departments are generally unaccountable for energy costs. But the increasing profile being given nationally to rising energy costs and the impact of energy use on climate change means that these barriers need to be tackled across the organisation in order to achieve real energy efficiency savings.Despite the strong drivers from fiscal and regulatory measures, and the financial impact of rising energy prices, the direction of energy use from FE system buildings is likely to be upwards for the foreseeable future. This is because educational establishments are becoming more and more energy intensive, particularly because their use of energy-intensive IT equipment is greater, and they use more energy intensive equipment for research. Consequently older buildings incorporate air conditioning or cooling equipment to ensure acceptable ambient temperatures, while newer buildings may incorporate these services as standard. In addition, working hours are often longer, and buildings are used more intensively and, in some cases, for community use outside normal operating hours.
The importance of continuing to improve energy efficiency is therefore critical to minimise unnecessary rises in energy usage. Larger energy users may be able to reduce their energy costs, or obtain grants or loans through which they can make investments for longer-term energy savings opportunities.
There are a number of ways to obtain exemption from the Climate Change Levy: for FE organisations, the most relevant exemptions are applied if energy is provided through a good quality combined heat and power scheme, or if the energy is provided from renewable sources. There are a range of grant schemes that may provide some financial support towards installing these types of installation, such as through the DTI’s Low Carbon Building Programme (external website) or from local or regional funds. Community-related projects may also benefit from the Energy Savings Trust (external website) which has a wealth of information and experience in related areas.
