Woodland Primary School

Woodlands Primary school was chosen by Durham County Council to become a pilot for retrofitting energy saving technology within schools.

As part of this the school has had 4 Air-Source Heat pumps installed, replacing their oil boiler. Larger radiators were installed to ensure heating was efficient in all rooms.

Air-Source heat pumps do require electricity to run but the school has solar panels installed on their school field which generates some of the electricity needed to run them. These solar panels were installed after campaigning by the school children. They also generate electricity for the school which is fully electric throughout. If there is excess electricity generated this can be sold back to the grid to allow the school to earn money from the solar panels.

All the lights within the school were replaced with LED lights which are 80% more efficient than regular halogen bulbs and have a longer life span.

Carbon and Financial Savings

Woodland Primary is now the lowest carbon emitting school in County Durham. The school has reported a noticeable difference in the ambient temperature, with rooms now being warmer. They have also seen savings in their energy bills.

Through this project the children have become very engaged in learning about climate change and what they can do to help. They are also now more educated on renewable and eco-friendly technology and how it makes a difference in helping combat climate change. The children had a direct impact on technology that was installed in their school as they felt it was important.

The school has been keen to share this with the wider community by hosting community events centred around the retrofitting and allowing people, who are looking to install this technology in their own buildings, to come and have a look around and explain the benefits of having this energy saving technology installed. The school has an open invitation for anyone who is interested to come and look round their school and ask any questions about the retrofit.

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Woodland Primary School