Schools

The pressure on schools to reduce energy consumption is increasing. Sustainability is a key theme of the New Zealand curriculum, and the majority of schools have built this into their teaching and learning programmes. School communities often expect schools to model sustainable practices - to ‘walk the talk'. Improving understanding of energy, and better managing energy use, can benefit schools in numerous ways.

Making changes to a school's energy-efficiency practices may be co-ordinated by the principal, property manager, caretaker, or a teacher. However, successful schools tend to involve the whole school community, including students, throughout the process.

How much energy do schools use?

An analysis carried out by ECOsystems of 20 secondary schools throughout New Zealand, showed that schools' typical energy use can be broken down roughly as follows:

  • 50% - heating
  • 30% - lighting
  • 12% - equipment and appliances
  • 8% - water heating.

This can vary - for example, in schools with heated swimming pools, water heating can account for 50% of energy use.

The same research found that energy costs varied greatly. These schools' energy costs varied from $70 to $142 per pupil, per year with the average cost $93. Average energy consumption per m2 of school premises was 87 kWhs (at a cost of around $12 / m2).

When setting benchmarks and targets for saving energy, it is a good idea to compare your energy use and practices with other local and similar schools.

What is my school doing around energy efficiency?

If you're serious about reducing energy use in your school, the following questions are a good guide to get started.

  • Do we know what our total energy costs are?
  • Do we have the best supply contract - in terms of price and carbon footprint?
  • Do we know how we compare to other schools?
  • Have we conducted an energy assessment or audit recently?
  • Do we have an energy policy?
  • Do we monitor and report on energy use?
  • Do we have an energy efficiency plan?
  • Do we model good energy-efficiency practices to students and parents?

School energy use - getting started

EECA advises organisations to take a five-stage approach to managing energy:

Gain commitment - get senior management, staff, board of trustees, the community and any other key stakeholders signed up

Understand energy use - work out how much you use, and where. How has this changed over time? What factors affect your consumption?

Plan - identify where the best energy-saving opportunities are, work out who's responsible, set priorities and targets

Take action - implement your programme - make it happen. The following action sheets will help to get started:

Monitor and report - measure the improvement, report back to keep people well informed and on board, and adapt or upgrade your plans as necessary. Reporting back on how your energy programme is doing, including celebrating any successes, is important to keep alive the commitment you gained in step one.

More information

Read the EECA Business action sheets:

From the Resource Centre

More related information: