A Rhyl school’s carbon footprint has reduced in size thanks to the installation of greener technology
Denbighshire County Council’s Property Section Energy Team has commissioned new equipment at Ysgol Tir Morfa which will reduce the school’s carbon emissions.
The Council declared a Climate Change and Ecological Emergency in July 2019 and has since committed to becoming a Net Carbon Zero and Ecologically Positive Council by 2030.
This includes reducing emissions from the building estate, which is responsible for over 60 percent of the Council’s direct carbon emissions.
UK boiler manufacturer Ideal provided two Ecomod air source heatpumps for installation at the school as part of a field trial. The equipment uses air temperature and electricity to generate heat in place of a gas boiler.
The efficiency of the system will help lower carbon emissions and costs compared to a traditional boiler.
Heatpumps can convert one unit of electricity into three units of heat by using the air temperature. A normal gas heating system might produce 0.9units of heat for one unit of input, making the heatpumps over 300 percent efficient compared to a gas systems 90 percent efficiency.
In addition to the air source heatpumps, the Energy Team has installed a solar PV and battery storage to also support the reduction of carbon emissions on site.
As the heatpumps use electricity this can be provided by the generation from the solar panels – further reducing fuel bills and carbon emissions. Solar battery storage has been installed as well to store any ‘excess’ and otherwise exported electricity produced by the solar PV, further reducing fuel bills and carbon emissions.
Ideal has also trained and accredited a Denbighshire installer to be able to install heatpumps, supporting the upskilling of the local supply chain.
Cllr Barry Mellor, Lead Member for Environment and Transport, said:
“Thanks to the work of our Energy team alongside the support of Ideal, we now have low carbon heat and renewable energy at Ysgol Tir Morfa. We are grateful that the school have been so accommodating of the new technology.
“This is a fantastic piece of work that supports the Council’s drive to cut carbon emissions across our estate and will create a better learning and working environment for both pupils and staff at the school.
“It is also great to see how this project has reached out further into our community by helping local traders upskill their own knowledge for the installation of air source heatpumps.”
