Display Energy Certificates - Go one better?
On reading the recent e-bulletin item on Kent Trust Web (Formerly Clusterweb) I note with interest that from the 1st October schools are meant to display a certificate that shows the energy usage per square metre. This means that every school with more than 1,000m2 will have an energy rating (Based on the amount of CO2 emitted) from A to G on an A3 size poster, (now thats a carbon footprint!) a bit like you see on white goods, BUT BIGGER!
An official assessor has to calculate emissions using a software tool (bet you were wondering where the technology came in!) to stop people cheating. Of course this will cost schools around £500 - £750 per year, although presumably you would want to set a target to save enough energy year on year to pay for it! (Thats of course if there are enough energy assessors, although the downturn in housing should free up those that were previously doing the HIPs for homeowners).
Some schools are starting to add dynamic energy displays in their entrance areas. I was at Fulston Manor School, who have a solar power system provided by solar4schools, and it has an informative LED display that shows dynamic energy use, and also the energy generated by the system. Presumably this is deducted from the Display Energy Certificate?? (since the energy comes from sunlight and doesn't use CO2). Kent BSF schools will have such displays as standard! We could even have league tables for energy efficiency ... now there's a thought!