Switched off hot water in school holidays
Implement our guidance to minimise energy waste on heating hot water during the school holidays
30 points for this action
Overview
50% of schools' gas is consumed when they are closed. This is very wasteful and represents the easiest opportunity to save energy.
Heating hot water can consume about 40% of a school's gas. On average, Energy Sparks' schools are only 15% efficient at providing hot water. This is because in order to deliver water quickly to taps, hot water is continuously circulating on a network around the school called a 'circulatory hot water system', and that however well insulated this network is, it is continuously losing heat. Hence for most schools, very little of their gas used for heating hot water actually gets used for hot water.
A short term solution is to ensure that the hot water is only circulating during the school day and is turned off out of hours, at weekends and during holidays (subject to Legionella purging at the end of long holidays).
The best approach is for your caretaker or building manager to implement a checklist for the end of every term which involves switching the hot water off. If staff or contractors visit the school during the holidays you could encourage them to use cold water or other sources of heating hot water, or turn on the hot water for a limited time period. If, for example, there is a week of deep cleaning in the summer holidays, you don't need to leave the hot water on for all 6 weeks! Hot water is no more effective for washing hands with soap than cold water. German schools, for example do not provide hot water for hand washing.
You need to check your Legionella policy, but the risk is typically the same whether hot water is left on (as there is a risk where pipework is lukewarm) versus turning the hot water off completely. In both cases the flushing arrangements at the end of a long holiday should be the same.
Heating hot water can consume about 40% of a school's gas. On average, Energy Sparks' schools are only 15% efficient at providing hot water. This is because in order to deliver water quickly to taps, hot water is continuously circulating on a network around the school called a 'circulatory hot water system', and that however well insulated this network is, it is continuously losing heat. Hence for most schools, very little of their gas used for heating hot water actually gets used for hot water.
A short term solution is to ensure that the hot water is only circulating during the school day and is turned off out of hours, at weekends and during holidays (subject to Legionella purging at the end of long holidays).
The best approach is for your caretaker or building manager to implement a checklist for the end of every term which involves switching the hot water off. If staff or contractors visit the school during the holidays you could encourage them to use cold water or other sources of heating hot water, or turn on the hot water for a limited time period. If, for example, there is a week of deep cleaning in the summer holidays, you don't need to leave the hot water on for all 6 weeks! Hot water is no more effective for washing hands with soap than cold water. German schools, for example do not provide hot water for hand washing.
You need to check your Legionella policy, but the risk is typically the same whether hot water is left on (as there is a risk where pipework is lukewarm) versus turning the hot water off completely. In both cases the flushing arrangements at the end of a long holiday should be the same.