European School Partnership for Sustainability (ESPS)

Use of energy in our school. Description and action plan.

In order to collect the necessary information on our subject, we had to collect the data from electricity and gas bills.  We collected and wrote down the data for 2014 and the first semester of 2015.  Our students in a previous project had analyzed the data concerning 2013.

The following table shows the annual consumption of electricity power, the gas and their cost.

During 2014, the school paid more than 10.000 Euros for electricity and gas plus taxes.

The school building has 20 classrooms and the total of pupils and teachers is about 280 people. Electricity power is mainly used for the lighting of the building and the operation of our electronic systems.  We use compact fluorescent lamps of 36 watts and each classroom has 18 lamps. The light is similar to sunlight and these lamps consume less energy compared to the conventional ones.

Looking into the electricity bills we found some interesting information. The consumption per year remains unmodified. From November to April we have high consumption because of the limited daylight at this period of the year. From July to September, the school is closed for the summer vacations. Nevertheless the consumption was unexpectedly high, over 1000 KWh/month. It was due to the big floodlights, which are installed round the school?s yard.

Regarding the use of gas, we realize that due to weather conditions, we started heating the school in November 2014. Unlike the next year, 2015 when we started heating the school in December. It is quite strange that we consumed more gas during the first half of 2015 compered to the entire 2014.
Action plan

The most valid solution should be the installation of photovoltaic panels on the school?s roof, since the weather in Greece is so sunny. However, this option is quite expensive.

What can we do? 

?  We can reduce the consumption of electricity by keeping the curtains open during sunny days and switch off the lamps, taking advantage of the sun energy. Furthermore, sun energy will keep the building warm.

?  We should remember to turn off the lights when we exit a classroom.

?  Fluorescent ones must replace the flood lamps in the schoolyard.

?  Regarding the use of gas, we can turn on the central heating manually, according to weather conditions. Also regulate the thermostat in lower temperatures.

?  Insulate the building with proper materials.