Miles Coverdale Primary School is on track to reduce its annual running costs following successful implementation of an upgrade to LED lighting financed by Salix SEELS funding.
Miles Coverdale Primary School in Shepherds Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, has 240 pupils aged between 3-11 years old and was rated Outstanding by OFSTED at their last visit in 2013.
Whilst the education provided there is first class, the three-storey school building is now more than a century old, with elements of the infrastructure in clear need of updating. In particular the legacy inefficient fluorescent strip lighting – common in so many schools – had been in place for “…more years than anyone could remember”.
Like all local authority maintained schools there is continued pressure on Miles Coverdale Primary to reduce its operating costs. The School’s own research suggested that it could achieve twin objectives; to improve the quality of light in its teaching and communal spaces whilst simultaneously reducing lighting-related energy and maintenance expenditure.
Caroline Collins, Head of School Business Strategy and Resources, set out to find a solution that could offer an upgrade – but without upfront investment costs. Another critical project objective was that the retrofit project should be implemented with minimal disruption to school activities.
Raj Gunasekaran Business Development Manager, Energys Group explains:
“There is really no reason for any school that hasn’t yet made the switch to LED lighting to wait. Energys Group is here to help make the whole process, from applying for funding through to project installation, as easy as possible. Salix Finance aims to turn around funding applications within just a couple of weeks. Doing nothing costs so much more.”
Salix Seels Finance
Energys Group was a natural choice to deliver the LED lighting upgrade at Miles Coverdale school. As Caroline Collins says; “When we started to talk to other schools, Energys Group’s name kept cropping up. Their reputation came before them as a company which made the experience as easy as it could be and we particularly appreciated the help they provided in supporting us with our application for funding from Salix Finance.” Salix Finance delivers 100% interest-free capital to the public sector to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. The Salix Energy Efficiency Loan Scheme (SEELS) programme is funded by the Department of Education to support schools and colleges to reduce energy costs through the installation of energy efficient technologies. SEELS funding is provided through an interest-free loan which is repaid by the school through predicted annual energy savings. The key criteria are that projects must pay for themselves within 8 years through predicted energy savings and must not exceed a maximum cost of £200 per tonne of carbon dioxide saved.
Using its proven process for projecting lighting-related energy savings, Energys Group’s Business Development Manager Raj Gunasekaran was able to show Caroline Collins and her team that the project would pay for itself in under 6 years. He also assisted the school in using the Salix Compliance Tool to evidence that their project was significantly under the £200 per tonne Carbon Dioxide saving requirement and provided supporting information to ensure the SEELS application proceeded smoothly.
A complete suite of LED lighting from Energys Group’s own extensive technology range was provided within this upgrade.
Caroline Collins is delighted with the end-result. She says, “There has been a huge improvement in light quality; it’s brighter, clearer and overall, it creates a much more comfortable environment for everyone.”
To read this story in full, download the Miles Coverdale case study here.
