Solihull Council’s Property Services team has been invited to showcase work with smart meters in schools at the Schools and Academies show on Thursday 18 November alongside the Department for Education (DfE) and the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
The Schools and Academies show is the UK’s largest education policy event. It provides senior school leadership teams with expert guidance, practical advice, and leading solutions on how to best overcome the biggest challenges facing education.
Solihull’s Property Services will be explaining how with managed use of smart meters, schools have saved energy and money and used this work to educate children about energy usage and their role in climate change.
Since 2010 the team has installed over one hundred and fifty gas or electric smart meters in Solihull schools and academies. With access to smart metering data schools can understand their energy consumption. This has allowed school management teams to monitor this consumption and identify main areas of waste. This innovative work has continued to help schools save money and support the borough’s aim of reaching net zero by 2041.
The smart meter data has also been used to drive pupil’s engagement and behaviour change. Several lesson plans have been created to teach children the impact of energy and in most of the schools, the pupils take charge of the energy awareness campaign, monitoring the usage, identifying waste, and implementing energy saving actions.
Councillor Bob Sleigh, Cabinet Member for Resources, said:
“Our Property Services team has been doing great work installing smart meters in schools and helping school staff and pupils work together to reduce energy consumption.
“Being asked to share this innovative work is a feather in the team’s cap. I am delighted that DfE and BEIS have recognised this work and requested we share our approach with school leaders from across the UK.
“With COP26 ending last week, it is more important than ever for schools to learn how they can reduce their emissions and energy consumption so they can contribute to the response to the climate emergency.
“Our Property Services team has provided the evidence which allows schools and academies to save money up to 20% of energy bills as well as helping them contribute to net zero. The Council recently approved its ambitious plans to be a net zero council by 2030 and a net zero borough by 2041 –work like this is what will help us reach these goals.
“It is also vital that pupils are taught to take an active role in energy awareness campaigns as it is our children who will be dealing with the consequences of the climate emergency. It is essential they learn early on how small changes can make a big difference when it comes to saving energy and contributing to a zero-carbon world.”
Following this success, Property Services is happy to talk to any other educational institutions interested in these services. To get in touch, please contact the Property Services helpdesk on 0121 704 6576 or email info@psmpartnership.co.uk