Hitchin Girls' School Helps Save the Planet
| Published: 29th May 2008 16:31 |
Twelve Hertfordshire schools, including Hitchin Girls' School, are taking action now and leading the way in energy saving.
By fitting smart meters to monitor and reduce their electricity, gas and water consumption, they are making savings of up to £9,500 a year at each school.
Almost £9million a year goes on energy use in Hertfordshire schools. The County Council is committed to making savings, and has set a target to cut carbon emissions by 25 per cent by 2012-13.
A pilot scheme to install smart meters in a few schools, has proved such a success, that the County Council plans to provide the innovative monitoring system in all schools and council premises.
"Every school we've put the system into has reported impressive savings," said Tony Comer, the County Council's Property Officer. "Schools account for 82 per cent of the council's carbon emissions, and with fuel bills rising and growing concern over climate change, we have to act now."
The Astley Cooper School in Hemel Hempstead has saved £5,000 in one year alone with smart metering.
"The school has a history of being very energy aware, introducing measures to reduce our carbon footprint, so smart metering was the logical next step," said Astley Cooper Facilities Manager Sue Davies.
Smart metering fits onto existing meters, the data is sent to a central web page and schools can log on to check usage.
"You can see if anything is being left on overnight or over the weekend which can cost hundreds of pounds, and it also alerts you to unspotted problems like water leaks," said Sue.
"It's a great way to achieve a really good saving and it's also part of our curriculum. Students can log on and have a look at their energy usage and it really involves them in environmental issues."
The County Council has signed the Nottingham Declaration - a national commitment to reduce impact on the environment.
"We are committed to reducing our carbon emissions and to maximising efficiency savings," said Keith Emsall, Executive Member for Education and Culture. "Smart metering is proving to be fundamental in helping to reduce our carbon footprint.
"It doesn't matter how efficient you think you're being - if you keep a much closer eye on your energy use the savings add up and everyone can cut their bills."
The smart metering system has been developed by Optimal Communications, specialists in monitoring and remote management solutions.
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