North Devonshire school implements solar heating

St Martin’s Junior School in Western Super-Mare has overhauled its heating and ventilation as part of the local council’s plan to generate 15% of energy on school premises.

Dalkia has designed and installed a new range of plant equipment, including a solar thermal array, that is expected to deliver CO2 savings of over 41 tonnes a year.

The North Somerset school will also use the capital on energy saving from the new equipment to upgrade plant and equipment.

The project replaces the 40-year old oil-fired heating system and incorporates a new condensing boiler that uses gas over the more expensive oil alternative, combined with a solar thermal system.

In order to ensure optimum efficiency of the new system, all pipework and valves have been insulated to prevent heat losses and unnecessary wastage of fuel. In addition the school building has been fitted with a Building Management System (BMS) to provide control over all the building services and ensure fuel costs are minimised and CO2 emissions are reduced.

This solar hot water system is setting a benchmark for future school and core building heating systems and is expected to lead to the standardisation of heating systems throughout North Somerset.

It is expected that the solar thermal element of the plant will provide a third of the system’s monthly base load. The gas heating will deliver CO2 savings of over 36,000kg, while an additional saving in excess of 4,000kg is delivered through the solar thermal array. The total potential savings equate to over 41 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Steve Hodges, Energy, Policy and Project Officer at North Somerset Council, who helped implement the initial switch said: “When we were looking for alternatives to the school’s old oil boiler system, we knew that we needed to find a strategy that would be environmentally friendly and keep costs down at the same time. Dalkia provided us with a variety of options on how to achieve this and we settled on the gas boiler and solar hot water integrated system. This has helped to save money, which is crucial given our environment, and also helps to set a good example to the pupils, who are learning about climate change and energy efficiency.”