• Children have higher metabolic rates than adults so they are comfortable and easier to communicate with in cooler environments. The Department of Education and Skills recommends 18°C for normal teaching, 15°C for corridors and sports halls and 21°C for low activity, special needs schools or those with very young children.
• For every 1°C of overheating, you increase energy consumption by 8-10%. A reduced temperature of 10°C is sufficient during the night for most buildings.
• Obtain feedback from staff and students – encourage them to report draughts, or if they are too cold or too hot. This will minimise the amount of people who use additional small heaters or open windows to regulate the temperature.
• Get students involved by asking them to make suggestions and understand the impact of their actions when it comes to consuming energy.
• Match heating needs to the time of day and outside environment – review time settings monthly to adapt to seasonal changes.
• Keep furniture and other equipment away from radiators and vents to improve heat circulation.
• Reducing the temperature by 1°C can save enough energy to print over 40 million sheets of A4 paper. Turning the heating down by 2°C could save you £140 on a £1,000 bill.

• Encourage all staff and students to turn off equipment at the end of the day. This saves energy costs, but also lowers cooling costs and extends the lifespan of the equipment. A single computer left on 24 hours a day costs £45 per year. With turn-off and standby features enabled you could reduce it to £10.
• Assign clear responsibility for switching off equipment.
• Activate automatic standby and power down modes after set times of inactivity, like 15 minutes. Switch off monitors to save up to 60% of energy during break times.
• Make sure fume cupboards have the right sash height, use them only for the stages of the experiment that present a hazard and switch them off when not in use. Don’t use them as bench space or to store chemicals.
• For arts and crafts studios, make sure kilns are full when fired and try to fire them at night. Soldering irons shouldn’t be turned on when not needed as they are heavy energy users.
• Switching vending machines off at night and during weekends can save enough energy to print 7m A4 pages.
• A lower use of paper leads to a more efficient workspace, less printing, less storage and less damage to the environment (through overuse of resources and incorrect recycling).

MYTH: Screensavers save energy. TRUTH: No, they are designed to increase the lifespan of the screen but may even use more energy than during normal operation if particularly colourful or animated.

• Raising awareness with your staff is an important step; implementing simple practices can reduce your bill by as much as 25%. Advise them to:

  • Not switch on appliances too soon
  • Avoid using kitchen equipment to warm the space
  • Switch off cooking appliances immediately after use
  • Avoid overfilling saucepans and kettles
  • Use lids, keep refrigeration unit doors closed and defrost regularly
  • Switch off lights and extraction fans when not in use
  • Make sure refrigeration units are well ventilated and not placed against the wall

• Oven and cookers can be on for around 10 hours per week so make sure they are only on when needed, not warmed up just in case. They shouldn’t take longer than 10 minutes to warm up, otherwise they may need maintenance attention.

• Use microwaves where possible as they use less energy, due to not needing to pre-heat.
• It's more efficient to run a dishwasher on an eco-mode that it is to wash the same load of dishes by hand.
• Check seals and adjust thermostats on fridges and freezers and avoid opening the doors too often to keep the cold air in.

• Take advantage of natural ventilation and free cooling by opening doors and windows, which could halve your energy costs. Just make sure you don’t do it in such a way that it poses a risk to your business or staff.
• Decide on an outdoor temperature range (for example between 19-24°C) when neither heating nor cooling will be turned on.
• Use curtains and blinds to keep rooms comfortable. Close them at the end of the day during winter to help retain heat.

• Making use of daylight in a classroom can reduce lighting costs by 19%. Artificial light should only be used to supplement natural light.
• Get the students involved by raising awareness during assembly in schools or as they go around university campuses by placing stickers and posters around the building.
• Keep windows, skylights and light fittings clean to let through as much natural light as possible.

• One of the highest sources of energy consumption in establishments that are equipped with them.
• If you have a swimming pool, consult the manufacturer details about backwashes. This can be an energy-intensive process Keep the water temperature between 28-30°C and the air temperature no more than 1°C higherto reduce condensation and prevent unnecessary use of ventilation.

• Is your thermostat inaccurate because of its location? Moving it could incur a small cost but it will mean it’s more accurate if not affected by radiator heat or placed in a draughty place. The location of the thermostat could make it raise or lower the temperature unnecessarily, based on inaccurate needs.
• Maintain boilers and pipe work. Having your gas boiler serviced annually and the oil boiler twice a year could save you 10% on heating costs.

• Make sure you review the performance of your ventilation and air circulation systems. If you’re not getting the desired results, there might be a fault with certain parts that you could easily replace. A system that is well maintained every year could lead to a 60% increase in efficiency.

• If you can insert a 1p coin on its side between a window or door and its frame, fit draught strips.

• Install plug-in seven-day timers which will switch off equipment when not in use outside of organisational hours – anything from computers to water coolers and vending machines.
• A red light on a monitor or any other appliance will usually show that it’s in standby. Every of those red lights will cost about £1 a year, which adds up.
• Purchase equipment that is at least Energy Star ratedand use flat screen monitors as they use 65% less energy.

• Use blinds to redirect daylight to the ceiling or wall rather than block it altogether and open blinds when there is no glare.
• Use timers to match working hours and/or occupancy of the space so it happens automatically and you don’t have to rely on others
• Occupancy sensors in toilets or less used areas save 30% to 50% on lighting costs, while daylight sensors turn artificial light off when there is enough daylight
• Replace conventional bulbs with CFL (Compact fluorescent lightbulbs) – they last 8x longer and use 80% less. What’s more, LEDs could give you 30,000-50,000 hours of use.

• Upgrade your heating controls. For example, use a compensator which works based on external weather to regulate the temperature. Or use an optimum start controller which optimises heating based on the time it takes to reach desired temperature. These two devices could give you a return on investment in about two years.

• Better insulation increases the value of the buildings as well as lower costs. Consider insulating hot water, heating pipes and loft spaces as 25% of the heat escapes through the roof. Did you know that insulating pipework can reduce energy losses by 70%?
• An insulation of 100-150mm of glass fibre could reduce energy loss by up to 90% in lofts.
• Improve window glazing. The most efficient is triple glazing, or you can also coat windows for insulation.
• When doing refurbishment, plan for draught lobbies at entrances. These have two sets of doors where one is closed when the other one is opened. Automate doors where possible to reduce heat loss.

• Buy energy rated A+ equipment, preferably with built-in sensors that automatically switch off when not in use.
• Buy ovens with large double-glazing viewing to prevent doors being opened too often, which can lead to heat loss.
• Consider heat recovery from the kitchen to be used for heating water. The Carbon Trust has a guide that can help you understand how it works.

• Using a pool cover to maintain the heat and reduce ventilation could save tens of thousands of pounds. The payback period is estimated to be about 18-36 months.
• A humidistat could be fitted to automate when ventilation is needed (above 65-70% humidity).
• Consider solar thermal technology to heat pool water and the building’s heat system.