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As you know, schools are one of the biggest users of energy in the UK. Helping them to identify where they are losing heat can make the difference between a balanced budget and one which could be diving into the red. A typical school has tens of buildings and unless they are extremely fortunate, none of them will have been built within the last 20 years. This means that the building regulation requirements when they were built didn’t really consider heat loss as that much of an issue. Today, however the price of energy and concerns for the environment mean this is a paramount concern.

Combine that with the DfES guidelines below, then your old buildings may be a cause for concern.

18ºC Normal teaching

15ºC Circulation spaces (eg corridors) and for areas with high levels of activity (eg sports halls)

21ºC Special needs schools, low activity areas or areas with very young children

Source: DfES Guidance 0029/2000, Standards for School Premises (find out more)

As you can see from the graphs below, the largest use of energy in a school is to heat open space. 58% of the energy budget at an average school goes towards this. If we want to look at the long term benefits of discovering where heat is escaping from in schools then an immediate heat loss survey is a necessity.

Source for images: The Carbon Trust Report on Schools

Typically the types of heat loss that can be identified in school buildings of a certain age include: The insulation in the roof spaces (is it regularly checked, has it got damp or slumped?), window fittings (older buildings in particular), Bridging (the transfer of cold air from one building or part of a building to another) and draft reduction.

A good heat loss survey will identify the areas of heat loss, be they in a roof space or gaps in window fittings. Heat Loss Surveys can be conducted both on the ground and in order to reach harder to access areas, via drones.  This will then allow you to determine the cause of heat loss and put into place a plan to mitigate it in the future. If you want to find out more about our heat loss surveys then please get in touch.