The first phase of an innovative renewable energy system was switched on at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School today.  As well as being cost-effective the new Ground Source Heating system will mean the School no longer relies on 755,000 litres of oil each year to heat the School and boarding houses.  Two boarding houses now use the new eco-energy, and within 12 months the whole school will be exclusively heated by energy obtained from within the School’s 260 acre estate.  The source of the energy is the bedrock beneath the school and lakes within the park.

Tony Samuels, Chairman of Surrey County Council officially opened the first phase, in the presence of school staff, governors and members of the School’s ECO Society.

The new Ground Source Heating system is believed to be the largest such project in the UK.  Previously the school and its boarding houses were all heated by oil, with 23 separate boiler rooms burning more than three quarters of a million litres of oil per year.  The new scheme will draw heat from 2 lakes and some 170 bore holes driven into the chalk of the North Downs.

Headmaster, Mark Dixon said “The school and all our pupils are very conscious of the implications of burning such vast quantities of fossil fuel for heating. We have been working hard for over a year to come up with a workable system using renewable energy sources.’

“The project is costing over £5million to install. ReEnergise conducted the technical feasibility for the project and economic viability and continue an engagement with the school through project management support.’’

The project will be funded by a 20-year green energy bank loan from Lloyds Bank which will be repaid from fuel savings, together with funding from the Government’s Renewable Heat Initiative. In addition to the new heating system, all the boarding houses have had their insulation improved and the School is changing all its lighting over to LEDs to save energy.  Within 20 years the project will save 15 million litres of oil.

15-year-old Holly Anderson, a member of the Eco-Committee who attended the official opening, said “The ground source heat project is a good idea and a step in the right direction. I hope it inspires other schools and the local community to look at more environmentally friendly solutions.”

 

 

In last month’s ISBA bulletin we reminded readers aspiring to achieve zero-carbon status on their school estates that it is essential to complete any required conversions to estate heating systems before 31^st March 2021, if it is to be done affordably, because that’s the date that the UK Government subsidy regime that supports conversions to renewable heat closes for new entrants. (The subsidy is known as the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI)).

In the past month, conversion momentum has picked up in the UK. One example of the extent of this is that some schools which are planning to get the bulk of the work done during the summer holiday have now pre-booked critical equipment, to ensure that it is available when they need it. This seems like a sensible precaution to take, as it would be a great pity if a school Governing Body committed to a conversion programme only to find that the required equipment was not available in the required timescale.

Another long-lead item causing concern for some schools is the requirement to get planning consent for the installation of the new system. Even though conversion to low/zero-carbon heat has clear environmental benefits, planning consent is still generally required. This will add a minimum of 8 weeks to any programme, and probably longer if the local planning authority has any queries about the detail of the programme.

The message remains that time is of the essence for conversions to low/zero-carbon heat systems, if they are to be achieved affordably: this applies equally to schools on mains gas, LPG or oil.

N.B. The Bursar’s Review issued on 4^th February contained a short leaflet from ReEnergise outlining a zero-carbon strategy for schools and informing readers about the establishment of a new Zero-Carbon Schools division in the company. Please not that the webpage included in the leaflet should read www.zerocarbonschools.com rather than ‘.co.uk’.

 

ESOS is run by the Environment Agency (EA) and is intended to encourage large organisations to achieve energy savings, by forcing them to go through a process of formally identifying energy savings opportunities and reporting on them to the EA. Large organisations are deemed to be those that either employ more than 250 people or have a balance sheet total in excess of 43 million euro (£s equivalent) and an annual turnover in excess of 50 million euro (£s equivalent).

Many independent schools employ more than 250 people and therefore became liable for ESOS Phase 1 and ESOS Phase 2. ESOS Phase 1 was completed in 2016, whilst ESOS Phase 2 had a compliance deadline of 5 December 2019.

We worked on behalf of the following schools to prepare their ESOS assessments for compliance on 5^th December 2019: Sherborne Girls, Stockport Grammar School, Prior Park Schools, Gresham’s School, King’s Bruton & Hazelgrove School and St George’s College Weybridge.

The collection of energy data – including, heat, power and transport – was inevitably an onerous task for school support staff but we worked together with each school and Paul Sentobe, our experienced Lead Assessor, to achieve full and informative ESOS reports which have now been registered with the EA for compliance.

The ESOS reports identify different savings opportunities: from behavioural e.g. switching off lights & computers, introducing more system controls, through to installing low-carbon heating systems such as heat pumps and biomass. Naturally the old chestnut of converting all lighting to LEDs featured in some reports, but most schools are already working through the conversion of their stock. We look forward to working with the schools as appropriate following the results of the ESOS.

 

October 2025: 

In this exclusive interview with Ali Frankley, who has been bursar of Fandangle Hall School since 2020, we learn that as well as doing all the other herculean tasks that form the typical lot of the bursar, she was recently awarded an MBE for making Fandangle Hall the first true zero-carbon school. (see the Autumn edition of BR).

BR. First of all, congratulations on the award. I expect you must be thrilled.

AF. Of course, but I enjoyed the journey and I earnestly believed in what we were trying to achieve at the school, which took a lot of the heartache out of the effort. Anyway, I know it sounds like a cliché, but it was definitely a team effort. Our estates team have put their heart and soul into it.

BR. So, for the benefit of the readers, could you just explain what you have done at the school.

AF. Yes; we’re now a designated net zero-carbon school estate. That means that none of our transport, power or heat usage on the estate generates any greenhouse gas emissions.

BR. And how does that manifest itself in practice? How does it affect the mechanics of operating the school?

AF. Well let’s start with the power, because that’s arguably the easiest bit. We are still using power from the national grid, but a lot less of it than we used to because we generate so much of our own power on the estate, courtesy of the usual technology – solar PV; but we’ve also got a small hydro generating system using the brook. And we ensure that all the grid power we do procure is 100% renewably sourced. The transport is all zero-carbon too. EVs. And it’s all part of an integrated system. Our mini buses, for example, are plugged into the school power circuit when not in use and they’re either taking a charge from the circuit when there is spare capacity from the solar or during the night when the grid rates are incredibly cheap; or they’re acting in their role as mobile batteries and selling power back to the grid when the grid needs it. It’s all automated. It saves a lot of money.

BR. And I understand that all the heating comes out of the ground. Is that right?

AF. We converted all our heating to ground source heat pumps back in 2020 when the government was sponsoring it so generously, in our case to the tune of over £3M. That subsidy basically covered the cost of the system with some room to spare. The heat pumps extract heat from the ground, boost the operating temperature via some clever technology which is best described as the refrigeration cycle in reverse, and then pass the heat to the distribution systems in the buildings – mainly normal radiators actually. We’ll be making a net profit from the system just as soon as we’ve settled the bank loan in 3 years time. It’s amazing really to think that we’ll actually be making money from heating the school.

BR. Does that work? The technology I mean? I’ve got a neighbour who’s got one and he’s not happy.

AF. Well I won’t deny I was worried when we embarked on that project. But we visited several sites that had already been converted, to check it wasn’t a big white elephant. A clear pattern emerged: where the system had been carefully researched and specified, and obviously properly installed, then it worked as intended, even in listed buildings. But where it hadn’t been carefully specified it didn’t work so well.

BR. And I believe you’ve also had a big drive on enhancing the efficiency of the buildings in the past 5 years?

AF. Yes, that’s helped a lot, as you’d expect. Plus we’ve done the same with the occupants. Everybody is energy and waste conscious now and we run a continuous campaign in that respect.

BR. What gave you the idea to do all this? Did it come from you or were you directed to do it by the governors?

AF. It all started with a piece of chocolate, funnily enough. I’d done a fair amount of my own reading around the issue of climate change and sustainability before I joined the school, back in the spring term of 2020. I’d been determined to make a difference as soon as I arrived, but I’d pretty quickly realised that it would not be so easy. For one thing, I hadn’t realised how little spare time I’d have to achieve anything other than maintaining steady state operations. But there was also no real focus on sustainability in the school. So I was on the verge of putting it off for at least a year when a letter arrived with some chocolate in it. It explained in very plain terms that we had about a year to get our heating converted otherwise we’d miss out on the subsidy that was designed to make it all affordable. I took that to heart, discussed it with my chairman, John Reese-Noble, and we agreed we should find a way to get it done – if we could do it without wrecking anything else. The chocolate wielding company turned out to be very helpful in guiding us through the maze of technologies and installers and now it’s all done.

BR. What were the biggest hurdles?

AF. Lack of time to focus on it, probably, but I gradually learned to delegate as much as I could; and I insisted that we did not skimp on project management effort. So many pitfalls were avoided because I had a company that I trusted working alongside me. They were adept at pointing out in advance what could go wrong. They took on a lot of the intellectual and organisational effort, and anyway, my own team didn’t have any spare capacity, nor the specialist knowledge required. The other challenge was bringing the senior leadership team along in a timely manner. Just think: one moment the budget and plan for the next 5 years were pretty much settled; the next moment we decided we had to find space for a programme of work stretching into the £millions – although not as much as our new builds, I hasten to add. And it wasn’t exactly glamorous stuff on the face of it. Governing bodies and academic staff don’t normally get fired up by heating plant or solar farms. But I let John take the lead on the internal hearts and minds campaign and he was very good at it. His catch-phrase is that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar, and it’s true.

BR. And I suppose the changing mood amongst the public helped?

AF. Yes. 2020 was the year that the national mood seemed to change. Parents started asking us what we were doing about sustainability and this inevitably had an impact on the priority. It was our marketing team, actually, that were the keenest on it. It was their idea, for example, to plaster our green credentials all over the side of our minibuses. People notice when our minibuses turn up at fixtures, especially now that we’ve got the zero-carbon status in big bold letters on the sides.

BR. Were there times when you wanted to give up?

AF. 2020 was a tricky year, because we had to get the main heat project finished or we’d have lost out on the government money. I definitely put my own neck on the line there, but I’m so glad I did. I’d hate to be one of those schools that are having to do the conversion now as the Building Regs gradually tighten up and the subsidies have all but stopped. Basically it’s now stick instead of carrot and I know that some of my colleagues in other schools are finding it a struggle financially. The regs seem quite innocuous on the face of it, but when you suddenly discover that you can’t replace a system in the older buildings with the same technology as you had before, it turns what was an affordable routine job into a serious cash headache. And let’s face it, nobody is going to have much sympathy for a struggling school in the independent sector these days.

BR. What would your advice to other bursars be?

AF. Three things. Thing One: have the courage of your own convictions and if you can see that something needs to be done but it’s not the flavour of the month amongst the school leadership, keep plugging away. People will come round in the end, provided that you are diligent about the business case, especially once you’ve got an ally or two in the right places. Thing two: make sure you follow a methodical step-by-step risk reduction process for each project. If you don’t do that, things are more likely to go wrong. Thing Three: you get what you pay for. If I’d tried to do all this on my own, it would never have worked. It was well worth having the additional support.

BR. Final word?

AF. Don’t ignore the chocolate. You never know where it may lead you.

BR. Ha ha. Thank you very much Ali.

A Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system is a small power plant that captures the waste heat produced whilst it’s generating electricity and makes it available as useful heat: hence the name – it gives you usable heat and power; and it does come more or less ‘in a box’, funnily enough. The supermarket equivalent would be ‘buy one get one at half price’. We call it ‘the box that saves money’.

The reason for the financial benefit is that grid electricity is so much more expensive per unit than mains gas (known in the trade as the spark spread).

Put in £2 worth of gas in a CHP and get out a £1 worth of heat and £3 worth of electricity, and reduce your emissions by up to 30%. Isn’t this the best-kept secret in the energy industry?

 

How Does a CHP Work?

A CHP system uses gas to power a boiler. The resultant high heat drives a generator to produce electricity. The remaining heat, which would otherwise be wasted, is used for local heating. This makes it much more energy-efficient than conventional heat or electricity production.

How Big Is a CHP System?

Like conventional heating plant, it comes in a range of sizes to serve a wide variety of heat and power requirements. A CHP suitable for a typical school requirement is only about a meter cubed in volume and would normally be installed in an existing plant room. Key point – it would augment rather than replace existing boilers (which would therefore work less hard and could be resized appropriately on replacement).

What Is the Ideal Source of Energy for a CHP System?

The ideal source of energy is mains gas. To gain the full benefit, all the heat and power generated needs to be used on site, so correct sizing is essential. Generally, there should be plenty of conventional uses for the electricity already (e.g. lighting and IT), but the CHP could also be used in conjunction with electric vehicle (EV) charging or battery storage; or even in combination with a heat pump.

How Much Does a CHP System Cost?

Cost-effectiveness is always site and usage dependent, but a typical school application – e.g. serving a sports hall with a swimming pool – would be less than £100,000. This would pay for itself in 3 to 5 years, depending on heat usage and the school’s gas and electricity rates. The life of the system could then be up to 15 years, making the net benefit (benefit minus costs) between 2 and 3 times the original capital outlay. Note that at this sort of scale it counts in VAT terms as an energy-saving material and therefore can be eligible for the reduced rate of VAT.

It seems curious that more schools have not taken advantage of this option. If you would like to know more, get in touch.

What Is a Ground Source Heat Pump?

A ground source heat pump (GSHP) is a system of heating, or cooling, using the heat from the ground. It is made out of a series of pipes buried underground, which transfer the heat from the earth into your home.

How Does a GSHP Work?

Below the surface layer, the ground remains at a constant temperature of about 12 degrees Centigrade all year round. A GSHP system makes use of this consistent temperature by extracting heat and enhancing it to provide hot water for heating infrastructure.

For large GSHP systems it is normal to sink a number of boreholes (the ground array), which can be 200-250m deep; or use horizontal trenching if there is space on the estate.

A fluid is circulated in continuous pipes within these boreholes to absorb the ground heat. The collected heat is then transferred from the fluid to a refrigerant running through the heat pump.

The heat pump acts like a fridge in reverse, using a pump and compressor to increase further the temperature of the refrigerant. The increased heat is then transferred from the hot refrigerant to the water in the heating system.

 

What is Coefficient of Performance?

Some power is required to run the heat pump, but its heat output is 3 to 4 times the electrical input, so the ratio between the power needed to the output is 1:3 or 1:4. This ratio is known as its Coefficient of Performance (CoP).

The more efficient the heat distribution system within the target building, the lower the required temperature of the heating water and the higher will be the CoP. But GSHPs can work well in leaky, old, listed buildings.

Is a GSHP Safe Against Legionella?

Water used to heat domestic hot water (DHW) systems may need to be boosted at times to raise the temperature to protect against Legionella.

Can a GSHP Be Used for Cooling?

Heat can also be dumped back into the ground to allow a GSHP system to be set up for cooling as well as heating.

GSHP is now a well-known, proven and reliable technology. The key to an effective and efficient system is the site-specific design. The heat pump must be adequately sized to meet the demand. The ground array must also be appropriately sized to extract enough heat from the ground whilst allowing the ground to regenerate its heat, either from the sun or underground water. The result of a poorly sized array can be frozen ground and an inability to deliver the required hot water.

To learn more about GSHP and how it can help your estate, get in touch with us.