Commercial Services

Menu
You are here: Home / Schools and Education / Building and Facilities (Schools and Education) / Energy and Sustainability (Schools and Education)

Energy and Sustainability (Schools and Education)

Energy and water are significant costs for any school or academy budget. Schools and other educational establishments collectively spend millions on energy and water, but we are here to help you monitor, control and where possible reduce these costs through energy efficiency. If you are a Trust of at least 10 schools and would like a bespoke offer for your Trust, then please get in touch to discuss your requirements. 

Schools and Academies in County Durham are a significant part of the local community, so are key partners in helping us meet our Climate Emergency Declaration commitments. Academies in different local authority areas contribute to other geographical emissions targets and ultimately the UK 2050 net zero target.

We work to ensure that our energy contracts offer the best value for schools. However, we know that due to a number of external factors, energy costs have risen significantly recently and are expected to remain volatile in the near future, so it is more important than ever for schools and academies to understand their energy use, embrace energy efficiency, and retrofit with new technologies where possible.

The Department for Education announced in December 2022 extra capital for energy efficiency works for all schools and academies, and access to accurate data and support will help you prioritise where to invest. 

  • Provide you with online access to reports and energy and billing data via a web portal to illustrate your energy consumption and highlight anomalies. Existing customers can log in at Durham Energy Manager
  • In school support through the ECO2 Smart Schools Programme. You can choose from a menu of engagement options including staff and pupil awareness and empowerment sessions, training, school leadership meetings, energy surveys, and curriculum-based activities.
  • Provide each school with an annual energy report highlighting performance over the past 12 months and opportunities for improving energy efficiency.
  • Monitor and validate all energy and water accounts to eliminate overcharging and waste.
  • Monitor out-of-hours gas usage and provide temperature data loggers to identify where boilers are incorrectly programmed. We work with technical services to rectify and resolve these issues.
  • Track water use through billing data and online meter readings to identify unusual consumption against your benchmark. In addition, we annually review surface water drainage charges. For schools that suspect a water leak or have high consumption, we have arranged access to a half-hourly water monitoring service through Demeter (at an additional cost).

  • Our highly skilled and professional team have a wealth of experience and knowledge in energy, water, sustainability, and renewables.
  • Continuously investigate opportunities and funding sources that will enable capital investment in schools/academies such as Salix Finance.
  • We share opportunities for energy efficiency from third party organisations where schools will benefit.
  • Provide guidance for schools investing in energy efficiency products eg LED lighting, solar PV, and heat pumps.

  • We monitor and validate all energy and water accounts to eliminate overcharging and waste on electricity, gas, water, oil and biomass.
  • Regularly review the energy and non-commodity contracts to ensure your school is being charged the correct rates and we will advise of any changes.
  • Resolve any disputes with the utility companies on your behalf.
  • We provide access to the Durham Energy Manager energy data portal to enable accurate meter readings and validation checks.
  • Provide advice to the school funding team and academies directly to assist with budget setting and end of year financial reporting.
  • Liaise with all parties to organise new supplies and service/meter disconnections and arrange the subsequent closure of accounts.

  • We’ve commissioned fully qualified professionals that can provide Display Energy Certificates and advisory reports (at an additional cost). These are a statutory requirement for all public buildings with a floor area greater than 250m2 (most schools).
  • We advise and support schools with VAT and climate change levy exemptions where applicable.
  • We liaise with Northern Gas Networks and your gas supplier in the event of a gas leak to restore service with minimal disruption to the school.
  • We assist with the registration of renewables schemes.
  • Assist academy chains with SECR reporting.

  • Member only access to information on the Eco2 Smart Schools website including case studies, technology fact sheets and up to date news.
  • We will keep you informed on developments via emails, conferences, and the extranet as appropriate.
  • Dedicated account managers and energy advisors.