SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SOLUTIONS

14 July 2008

Dalkia educates St Martin's Junior school by installing sustainable energy solutions. As part of its ongoing work to reduce energy costs across North Somerset Schools’ estate, Dalkia has designed and installed a new range of plant equipment, including a solar thermal array, that is expected to deliver CO2 savings of over 41 tonnes a year at St Martin’s Junior School in Worle, Weston-Super-Mare

As part of its ongoing work to reduce energy costs across North Somerset Schools’ estate, Dalkia has designed and installed a new range of plant equipment, including a solar thermal array, that is expected to deliver CO2 savings of over 41 tonnes a year at St Martin’s Junior School in Worle, Weston-Super-Mare.

Committed to reducing emissions across its property portfolio, the refurbishment of St Martin’s plant room is part of North Somerset Council’s Local Structure Plan, which will see all new buildings generating 15% of their energy requirements using onsite methods of microgeneration.

Built in to the strategy for North Somerset is a sustainable model of energy saving and re-investment by Dalkia. This sees the school buildings within the portfolio upgrading their plant and equipment using capital savings made through energy efficiencies implemented by Dalkia.

Dalkia’s solution for St Martin’s completely replaces the 40-year old oil-fired heating system and incorporates a new condensing boiler that uses gas over the more expensive oil alternative, combined with a solar thermal system. In order to ensure optimum efficiency of the new system, all pipework and valves have been insulated to prevent heat losses and unnecessary wastage of fuel. In addition the school building has been fitted with a Building Management System (BMS) to provide precise control over all the building services. Because the new system is more efficient, these further measures will ensure that savings for St Martin’s are two-fold: fuel costs are kept down and CO2 emissions are reduced.

By removing the outdated boiler system, Dalkia has provided a modern and effective solution to the school’s heating requirements. Recognising that maintaining a consistent and ambient internal temperature is key to both learning and teaching in the education environment, Dalkia has tailored the plant design specifically to St Martin’s needs. In particular, Dalkia has worked hard to introduce a renewable energy source in the shape of the solar hot water system, in line with the Council’s commitment to sustainable energy efficiency measures. This system is setting a benchmark for future school and core building heating systems and is expected to lead to the standardisation of heating systems throughout North Somerset.

It is expected that the solar thermal element of the plant will provide a third of the system’s monthly base load. The gas heating will deliver CO2 savings of over 36,000kg, while an additional saving in excess of 4,000kg is delivered through the solar thermal array. The total potential savings equate to over 41 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Steve Hodges, Energy, Policy and Project Officer at North Somerset Council, helped implement the initial switch and has found the new system to be extremely cost effective, “When we were looking for alternatives to the school’s old oil boiler system, we knew that we needed to find a strategy that would be environmentally friendly and keep costs down at the same time. Dalkia provided us with a variety of options on how to achieve this and we settled on the gas boiler and solar hot water integrated system. This has helped to save money, which is crucial given our environment, and also helps to set a good example to the pupils, who are learning about climate change and energy efficiency.”

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