School's power boost

Caddington Village School is one of seven schools taking part in Central Bedfordshire Council’s Invest to Save Solar Scheme.

Since the 30kW solar installations were installed across two blocks at the school in Five Oaks, Caddington, during the last year the results have been dramatic.

Last month’s records showed that the school’s energy consumption was almost half of what it was in April 2015.

Nicki Butler, the school’s Business Manager, said: “This is an impressive achievement and one that will become more apparent as time goes on.

“We will aim to keep up the good work and impressing on pupils just how things like switching off lights translates into savings.”

Other measures to reduce energy consumption include: boilers on much stricter timing controls; installing energy-efficient lighting as well as movement sensors and thermostatic controls for radiators; pupils have created an eco-council, pledging to take responsibility to turn off unused equipment and also made their own ‘hippos’, special devices to reduce the amount of water needed to flush toilets.

In total, the nine solar installations at eight schools have the capacity to generate 200kW of power. They are among 23 installations at 22 council sites, including Priory House, which are currently producing around 500kW of power and which were installed as part of a wider solar programme.

olar programme.