Energy in education

Energy reduction specialist CSR Bradford has launched the ‘Energy in Education Program’ — an initiative to help Australian schools save on their energy bills and teach students about smarter energy management.

The program is operated in partnership with ASCA, a national procurement body comprising 3500 schools; and NAB, which has developed a specialist finance package allowing schools to fund participation in the program through their energy savings. Schools participating in the program each receive a detailed assessment of their energy use to examine how their operations can be upgraded to reduce energy demand and utility expenditure.

“We examine the school as a whole to assess how and when they use their energy and then look at ways to reduce the load by implementing technologies including energy efficiency upgrades and fully equipped solar systems,” explained Matthew Jones, national schools program manager at CSR Bradford.

“Data shows us that lighting, for instance, represents between 30–50% of a school’s energy usage — and, thanks to advances in LED lighting, it is a primed asset for upgrade.

The program’s effectiveness lies in the holistic approach Bradford takes when working with schools. The company is responsible for the initial designs and recommendations, as well as implementing and managing all installations.

“Our Schools Team provides customised design and engineering to identify the right solution for a school, and our relationship with NAB and our supplier and installation network enables scaled implementation,” said Jones. “With CSR overseeing and underwriting the projects, we can offer reliable and legitimate long-term support and post-install service to schools.”

Energy reduction is achieved not only through technologies including solar and lighting, but also power quality technologies like power factor correction and voltage optimisation, which ensures improved power quality is delivered to schools.

“As part of the process, we provide monitoring and significant warranty protection to ensure ongoing maintenance costs are mitigated or removed,” said Jones. “We also work to ensure any works don’t disrupt students or staff — as reflected in our ‘term break’ installation process.”

The program also incorporates an educational package to integrate into the curriculum allowing students to track and analyse the energy production profile of the school. For example, in-built monitors allow the solar system to feed data into the classroom that students can learn from.

“We are excited to partner with schools and set a positive example about smarter energy management to students and communities throughout Australia,” said Jones.