Ensuring that your school is on the most favourable energy contract to meet your budget and net zero objectives is crucial. Working with a reputable energy consultant will help you regularly review and renegotiate contracts to avoid automatic rollovers, which can lock you into higher rates. Consider fixed-term contracts to shield your school from price volatility, and explore flexible purchasing to leverage market movements. A consultant will prepare all the options available in market for you, along with comparisons, risk assessments and a detailed analysis of best practice recommendations to meet your needs.

Are you paying more than you should? Mistakes in energy billing are not uncommon, with our invoice validation team typically finding errors in up to 20% of energy bills. From ensuring the numbers are based on accurate usage data to guaranteeing the correct rates are being applied, an invoice validation service can make a huge difference to your budget, safeguarding you from potential financial losses while allowing more informed and accurate budgeting and forecasting A historic bill analysis can review invoices from the past six years, uncover discrepancies, and secure refunds. We recently helped an independent school recover over £100,000 in overcharges due to incorrect rates being applied over 14 months.

Solar PV installations are becoming increasingly cost-effective, making now an ideal time to explore solar energy for your school. It is important to have a good understanding of your electricity consumption to help size the project correctly. A system that is too small won’t provide much reduction in your energy costs, while a system that is too large will result in the capital costs outweighing what you can sell back to the grid.

If you already have a solar installation and you have had your panels for a while, you might find that upgrading can offer a good return since modern panels are more efficient and cost-effective. One way to maximise the return on your investment is to ensure that the energy produced is used on site as much as possible. If your school is exporting a large proportion of its generated power back to the grid, you could be missing out on substantial savings. The export tariff typically offers a lower rate than the cost of purchasing electricity, meaning you could be paying more than necessary for your energy. Regular maintenance checks, particularly on inverters, can also ensure your system operates at peak efficiency.

Sports halls and gymnasiums can be comfortably maintained at a lower temperature than other areas of your school building. Aim for a temperature of around 14°C, compared to around 18°C for classrooms.

Additionally, practicing energy efficiency in your sports centre, such as regulating swimming pool and shower temperatures and ensuring water efficiency, can lead to substantial savings. Regular maintenance, such as fixing dripping taps, also helps control costs.

If your school offers venue hire or lets facilities outside school hours, it’s essential to regularly review your pricing. As energy prices rise, your hire fees should be adjusted accordingly to ensure these activities remain profitable.

All too often, investment in technology becomes a reactive activity, with upgrades and replacements taking place when they reach the end of their life. However, proactively replacing outdated equipment with modern, energy-efficient alternatives can lead to immediate reductions in energy consumption and maintenance costs.

A condition survey will provide a strategic approach to managing your building assets in the long term. By assessing their existing condition and forecasting anticipated lifecycle costs, you’ll be able to make well-informed investment decisions based on condition and estimated repair costs.

Since 2023, the manufacture of fluorescent lamps has been banned as part of a phasing out of non-sustainable light sources, so if you have legacy lighting it is definitely time to consider upgrading to modern energy-efficient LEDs to help keep your school well-lit. LED lighting not only reduces energy consumption by around 30 to 40%, but also provides lighter, brighter, and more appealing classrooms, and you’ll also benefit from reduced long-term maintenance costs since the bulbs last longer too!

Regular meter readings are essential to avoid unexpected catch-up bills. Using a customer portal like Zenergi’s, which provides detailed energy and water consumption data, can aid in budgeting and identifying unusual consumption patterns, such as excessive energy use during holidays or overnight.

In addition, with the upcoming regulation requiring half-hourly metering by October 2026, now is the time to prepare. Upgrading to half-hourly meters can offer detailed insights into your energy use, helping to identify waste and reduce costs. If your meter is affected you can get ahead and prepare for the necessary upgrade to a half-hourly meter now, and you’ll gain early access to the benefits half-hourly metering brings.

Engaging your staff and pupils in simple energy saving measures can make a surprising difference. Illustrating the impact of energy savings in relatable terms, such as funding a school trip or additional resources, can be very impactful and highly motivating.

Simple actions, such as ensuring technology is switched off and not left on standby, closing doors and windows and not heating excessively can offer savings of 5-10%.

Energy awareness training is highly beneficial, and conducting it annually helps reinforce good habits, ensuring that energy efficiency becomes deeply embedded in your school’s culture, rather than a short-term focus.

By implementing these strategies, independent schools can better protect their budgets, ensuring they remain financially resilient in the face of new taxation rules and other financial pressures.