Red Tape Means Cash Strapped Schools In England Are Wasting Over £326 Million Per Year On Inefficient Lighting
Procurement rules for state schools urgently need to change to allow private sector funding of energy efficiency projects such as installing LED Lighting, according to eEnergy Group CEO, Harvey Sinclair.
Schools are adding over 572,000 tonnes of unnecessary carbon, the equivalent to 26.4 million trees, into the atmosphere.
Expert analysis of the energy consumption of state schools across England has shown over £326 million[1] is being wasted every year because of the failure to switch to more efficient LED lighting. With only an estimated one in five schools having switched so far, state schools are losing more than £18,500[2] per annum on average. However, the cash strapped schools are prevented from embracing innovative funding solutions to replace the old lights such as Light as a Service (“LaaS”) by procurement red tape.
The analysis was done by eEnergy Group plc (“eEnergy”), a leading "Energy Efficiency-as-a-Service" business in the UK and Ireland. Since May 2019, eEnergy, through its subsidiary eLight, has completed audits of more than 100 of schools of all sizes across England who are considering state of the art LED lighting systems to save money and cut carbon emissions.
By using the LaaS model deployed by eLight, schools can upgrade their lighting without any upfront capital payments while freeing up cash. For a fixed monthly service fee, the system is installed by eLight, with the energy savings more than meeting the costs throughout the typical seven-year contract.
While independent schools are rapidly embracing the LaaS model, state schools and academies have been much slower to adopt the practice. One of the issues is procurement rules. For many schools, innovations like LaaS are difficult to embrace within the current guidance, which prevents them from signing finance leases. While technically a LaaS contract is an operating lease, the lack of clarity within the rules adds delay and perceived risk which lowers adoption rates.
The average classroom costs £400 per year to light which drops to £100 with LED Lighting As well as the wasted cash, by not switching to LED lighting, the schools are adding over 572,000 tonnes[3] of unnecessary carbon, the equivalent to 26.4 million trees, into the atmosphere. With lighting accounting for more than half of the average school’s electricity bill[4], making this area more efficient will be key to meeting ambitious carbon targets. Furthermore, LED lighting can also help aid student concentration, with lighting designs that are specifically created for a school environment.
Harvey Sinclair, CEO, eEnergy Group plc, said: “The idea of making all schools more energy-efficient to save money is a no brainer. However, the £1 billion of grants announced by the Chancellor to make public sector buildings more energy efficient isn’t going to make much of an impact. Even if all the money went to schools, it would mean as little as £45,000 per school. To replace the old inefficient lighting at an average secondary school alone costs £150,000.
“We want the UK Government to cut red tape so schools can more easily work with companies such as eEnergy. We think procurement rules should be updated to recognise new funding initiatives such as Light as a Service which have a clear financial and environmental benefit. We can deliver energy efficiency improvements at scale without the need for schools to dip into their budgets. The savings pay for everything. As well as cutting carbon, it would free up cash from stretched school budgets as well as creating thousands of jobs for contractors across the UK.”
[1] Based on Department of Education figures from 2019 which recorded 22,004 state schools in England of which eEnergy estimates 20% have already switched to LED Lighting.
[2] Analysis of more than 100 hundred audits done by eEnergy concluded on average a state school in England could save £18,522 per year if it switched to LED lighting.
[3] eEnergy analysis shows each school is adding on average 32.5 tonnes of carbon that could be removed with LED lighting
[4] Figures from Carbon Trust
