Rising energy prices are set to hit the education sector hard with some schools expecting between 50 to 60 percent increase in their energy bills. 

With the global energy price hike already having an impact for schools, educational institutions and businesses Chris Wright, Technical Director of Powercor, an expert organisation in the field of sustainable energy, says his company is receiving an unprecedented rise in enquiries from the sector.

Powercor already works in the education sector designing and installing LED lighting and other systems to help schools make energy reductions, go greener and save money. Many schools and colleges are already turning to sustainable and energy saving systems to reduce the costs in the long term as they see their bills rise. 

Schools are planning installation programmes

The firm says schools have already carried out the switch to sustainable energy this year, and many more are planning installations during the forthcoming Easter and summer holidays. 

In addition Powercor has partnered with STEM charity SATRO on an energy saving challenge for schools. Students monitor their energy use and are shown how savings are made. 

Chris Wright commented: “We are already hearing from schools that they are expecting between a 50-60 percent increases in energy bills. For example one of our educational clients currently pays £400,000 per year for the energy they consume and they are already bracing for that figure to rise to £800,000 in 2022. 

“Like homeowners, schools and businesses have seen the unit price for electricity rise from 17p per KWH to 35p per KWH and estimates are that if the current conditions continue this has the potential to increase to 50p per KWH.”

Energy prices are rising

The energy pricing crisis, which is set to get worse because of the Ukraine crisis, has arrived at a time when organisations were already looking at how they could reduce energy consumption as they sought to create a strategy towards net zero in tune with UK’s target date of 2050.

Powercor has recently overseen the installation of a ground source heat pump system at a school which uses the earth’s natural energy to power its heating systems. The move will reduce the school’s carbon footprint by 250 tonnes each year and will also save the equivalent of the energy required to power 30 homes.

Chris Wright continued: “We are advising increasing numbers of schools and colleges about energy efficient systems and there is a growing interest in harnessing the power of the Sun through solar panels, an established and proven way of reducing energy bills. The technology has proved to be robust and resilient and the results are also impressive.”

For example, the costs of installation equates to £1,000 for every kilo watt hour you are looking to produce. In a typical home that would equate to an installation cost of between £4,000 and £10,000. 

The typical payback period is around four to six years but with the energy price cap removal in April the break-even point is likely to come more quickly.

That is an impressive ROI in addition to the benefits to the environment.  An educational establishment can expect a similar saving and schools that have converted in recent years will be seeing significant savings already.

Chris Wright concluded: “Looking to greener and cleaner sources of energy is the way forward for us all and that includes our schools. We are currently working alongside SATRO to show children how energy can be reduced and talking with decision makers in schools to demonstrate the savings and how they become carbon zero too.”

Powercor are based in Weybridge, Surrey but work with schools, businesses and residential customers across the UK.