Invest, save, repeat: The cycle transforming Manchester Grammar School’s energy landscape
Conquering cost and carbon barriers with a multi-stage approach
Gaining Management buy-in to reduce your carbon footprint will often hinge on financial constraints. With a desire to hit net zero competing with a host of other vital business needs, Manchester Grammar School (MGS) needed an approach that would provide enough cost savings for investments to pay for themselves.
Greener Energy Futures was brought on board to highlight where energy savings could be made and to recommend a strategic investment plan that would allow cost savings to be reinvested to pay for a self-financing staged approach.
A staged 10-year programme was developed to prioritise demand reduction and paybacks. This means that projects are prioritised if they reduce long-term demand AND provide good financial returns; and scheduled for longer-term development if they generate energy or have slower paybacks.
With stage 1 complete, MGS is now making savings through solar power, cavity wall and roof insulation and LED lighting. The 210 solar panels on the Sports Hall alone, is already generating an estimated annual energy generation of 70,000 kWh.
Historic school pivots to sustainability
Founded in 1515, Manchester Grammar School built a reputation as one of the country’s leading educational establishments, a position they still hold today as they’ve adapted and evolved. Their new period of evolution is to move towards a more sustainable future.
Having made substantial energy-use savings over the past several years; the organisation wanted to make a longer-term plan to reduce the costs and carbon emissions from energy usage of its 11.5-hectare campus in Fallowfield, Manchester. The site is largely from the interwar period, with a few 21st-century additions. There is a swimming pool on-site and on-site catering, which are likely to represent a large minority of the site’s environmental impact from food, energy, water and waste.
A long-term plan and ESOS obligations
With plenty of demands on the school budget, MGS needed a long-term plan that would allow a staged approach to investment. Each investment in a sustainable future would need to begin paying for itself before the next stage of the plan could begin.
In addition, MSG needed to fulfil the energy audit obligations for ESOS (Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme), which is a legislative framework established in the UK. Its primary aim is to promote energy efficiency among large organisations, leading to both environmental benefits and cost savings. This is mandatory for certain organisations and MGS is in scope. Obligations include having the audit and identifying recommendations that cover at least 95% of the total energy consumption.
MGS taps Greener Energy Future for expertise
Limited internal resource was available to fully explore sustainable developments and find trusted suppliers to save energy and finance. In addition, the need for the mandatory ESOS audit meant they needed credible and authoritative experts to help. MGS Estates Manager Mike Simon had been following Greener Energy Futures on LinkedIn and reached out for help.
A manageable strategy for 40% cost reduction and 34% carbon savings
Following their extensive audit, Greener Energy Futures recommended a staged approach to allow the savings made to be input to ongoing investments. The approach was based on an order of good practice energy and budget management together with prioritising demand reduction and paybacks. This meant that projects were brought to the front of the queue if they reduced long-term demand and provided good financial returns, but scheduled for longer-term development if they focused on energy generation or resulted in slower financial or carbon paybacks.
Four areas of focus were identified:
· Better energy data through submetering to identify potential waste.
· Implementation of fabric improvements, such as insulation, glazing and draughtproofing.
· A wholesale upgrade of lighting to LEDs.
· Maximum adoption of rooftop Solar PV generation.
Together with an action plan the audit highlighted that investment in these areas will have the following projected impact:
£300,423 of (annual) energy cost savings (40%), based on anticipated tariffs allowing for ongoing investments through the staged approach.
234 tonnes CO2e of emissions reductions (34% reductions in carbon footprint).
For a total investment of £925,618, giving a 3.1-year averaged payback.
A pathway to reduce the school’s emissions by 58% by 2035 without major heating
upgrades.
Energy Savings in Action: MGS's Stage 1 Achievements
Stage 1 of the prioritised plan is now complete and has included:
· The installation (by Ineco Energy) of MGS’s 1st solar system on its sports hall roof. The £70k investment of 210 solar panels is estimated to pay for itself in less than 3 years and an ongoing annual saving of £28k through the annual generation of nearly 70,000 kWh.
· Cavity wall insulation which will pay for itself in 2-3 years through energy savings and give an annual saving of several thousand pounds.
· £38.5k investment in LED lighting across the site which will pay for itself in 6 months and give an annual saving of £74k.
· A thermographic survey to show temperature variations across the building to identify further areas of improvement where heat is lost through inadequate insulation, gaps or construction flaws.
MGS are now in the process of defining the next steps on their sustainability journey funded through savings made. Potential projects could see larger redevelopment initiatives and submetering to continue chipping away at reducing energy costs and carbon emissions.
“With a keen eye on energy costs and the need to demonstrate environmental benefits to the school community, it’s been fascinating to work with the school’s already capable Estates team to create a clear, holistic view on how to drive carbon and cost reduction. Furthermore, working with excellent installation partners to turn ideas into reality has been doubly satisfying. We look forward to supporting the school on its continued sustainability success story”
Simon Pyne | Director at Greener Energy Futures
Your gateway to a sustainable energy future
If like MGS, you’re looking to make sustainability investments manageable, a Greener Energy Futures audit can identify energy and financial saving opportunities and outline a staged approach for implementation. The cost for the audit will always be less than the savings we identify, and we’ll introduce you to highly regarded solutions partners and help you identify grant-funding opportunities.
Reach out to Simon at 07356 110886 for further details or to discuss how your business can contribute to a more sustainable energy future.
BIO: Manchester Grammar School
The Manchester Grammar School is one of the UK's top independent schools for boys aged 7 to 18, with a global reputation for academic excellence.
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