Managing Energy in Schools

Improved energy management in schools would produce significant cost savings. Only a small number of schools will make big savings but a large number of schools will be able to make worthwhile savings. However, many schools should look for savings in other areas, for example, text-book management, which may give a better return. The first step in improving energy management is to identify to which category a school belongs.
This article starts with a brief history of our research over the past ten years. A review of the problems of managing energy is followed by a discussion on the use of energy in schools. A brief guide to the ways energy can be saved should provide some ideas for schools with energy management problems. The article is completed with an energy management worksheet. The worksheet offers a very simple categorisation method to permit a school to determine whether it is worthwhile to invest time and resources into reducing energy expenditure.