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Energy Saving Tips for Kindergartens and Schools
For months it has been about almost nothing else: natural gas and energy prices are skyrocketing. At home, families try to use as little energy as possible and companies are also taking all kinds of measures to achieve this. Childcare organizations and schools also want to save energy expenses. We have collected a number of tips to help.
Economical heating
At a childcare location, there are several employees who can operate the heating. One may be very careful and frugal about it. Others open the radiator valves completely, so that it is quickly nice and warm. At that moment you use much more energy than desired and necessary. Therefore set a limit on the radiator valves. It is therefore no longer possible to open it completely.
It would be even more sustainable if you could set a maximum temperature for the heating centrally. This prevents heating from being set unnecessarily high. You also prevent that the heating is set very high on one group and it is much colder on other groups and in the hallway. If that does happen and you open the door between the group and the corridor, you will lose a lot of heat to the corridor. The heater will then start heating again. With a limit, that stops you and you can therefore save gas and energy. In addition, it ensures an overall pleasant temperature.
In addition, make sure that the heat from the radiators can flow properly into the room. For safety reasons, radiators at many childcare locations have a radiator cover. To prevent children from reaching the heated metal with their fingers, this housing has holes or slots. In many models, the heat can only flow less well into the room as a result. This is not the case with the child-proof Radiator Cover by Arte Viva. It has ventilation slots along its entire length, allowing warm, rising air to flow out without any problems.
Prevent drafts
Prevent you from losing heat through open doors and windows or other cracks through which air passes. That way you always keep the heat within the space you are heating.
If you regularly go outside or if you leave the doors open more often, it can be useful to install an air curtain. This device above the door blows warm air downwards. This forms a separation between the warm indoor air and the cold outdoor air. Of course this also uses energy, but by using it in a good way, it can save even more energy and gas. An automatically controlled air curtain is the most convenient for this. This ensures optimal comfort with a high separation efficiency and low energy consumption.
Turn equipment off when possible
On days off, weekends and holidays it is not necessary for the heating or ventilation to be (fully) switched on. Therefore, make sure that employees close the radiator valves at the end of the day and that the heating is as low as possible on those days. Childcare organizations must meet certain safety requirements with regard to the ventilation system. It may not be able to be turned off completely, but set it as low as possible. It then uses as little energy as possible.
In addition, it is good to always remove the plugs from the socket of devices that are not being used. Think of a computer that pedagogical staff use sporadically, a digital whiteboard or an extra refrigerator that is not used. Every little bit of energy you save is a bonus.
Invest in sustainability
You can switch off many appliances to save energy, but a refrigerator, for example, is constantly on. In addition, some appliances are used a lot every day, such as a microwave, kettle or coffee maker. In recent years, those devices have become much more durable. If you still have old appliances, they probably use more electricity than necessary. Therefore, exchange your old, energy-guzzling appliances for energy-efficient variants. That is an investment, but also a sustainable choice that ultimately allows you to save more. The same goes for the hob. By switching to an induction hob, you no longer use gas when cooking and you immediately choose the most economical electric hob.
To use electricity even more sustainably, a childcare organization can also invest in solar panels. Possibly a number of them can be placed on the roof of a location. If you rent the property, investing in a nearby project is a better option.
For Dutch kindergartens and schools, the Subsidy Scheme for Sustainable Social Real Estate (DUMAVA) may be able to help the organization with this. This scheme has been developed to encourage and support owners of social real estate in making their real estate more sustainable. The government has made €150 million available for this purpose. You can apply for the subsidy since October 3, 2022 and until December 31, 2023. More information can be found on the subsidy page.
Smart and economical lighting
LED lights are the most energy-efficient lighting. Therefore, replace all other lamps and fluorescent tubes with LED lighting. If you prefer not to replace the existing fixture of fluorescent lighting, you can simply replace the fluorescent tube for a retrofit LED tube. It is most energy efficient to also replace the luminaires with LED luminaires. These also have a higher light efficiency.
Not only the lamps you use, but also the way you use the lamps influences energy consumption. It often happens that lights are switched on in areas where no one is, such as the kitchen, the staff room or the toilet. You can prevent this by installing motion sensors. The lights switch on as soon as someone enters a room and switch on again when no more movement is detected.
Smart use of (hot) water
You need gas and/or energy to heat up water. Once this is heated, it runs through pipes to your tap. You can take all kinds of measures to prevent the water in the pipe from losing heat. For example, it is wise to place the water heater or central heating boiler as close as possible to the hot water tap. It is best not to leave more than 3 meters between them. In a pipe more than 20 meters long, the water loses so much heat that it is better to have a kitchen boiler installed.
You can also choose to attach insulating material to the pipes. This way the heat remains in the pipes instead of being released to the outside air. Moreover, it is extra safe, because this way no children’s hands can touch the warm tubes.
In addition, children would not be children if they did not regularly forget to turn off the tap. With a tap that has accidentally been left open or has not been closed completely, so that a small stream of water always flows out, you waste an unnecessary amount of water. A tap with a sensor is the solution for this. The water flows when the sensor detects hands and turns off again as soon as the hands leave under the tap. That way you don’t waste a drop.
Monitor energy consumption
The tips above will help you save gas and electricity. However, not every childcare location is the same, which means that one measure will have more effect than the other. For the best insight into where you can save, you need to know what the energy consumption is. In the Netherlands, Guarantee Fund & Knowledge Center Childcare has developed the tool ‘Energy consumption‘ for this purpose. This provides insight into the energy costs and operating fees compared to other locations, shows which locations are doing well and which are not doing as well and makes it clear at which locations results can be achieved quickly. The ‘Energy Saving‘ Starter Package can then help you with a step-by-step plan. For a country-specific solution , contact your local authorities.
Go out and move!
Finally, you don’t have to turn the heating up a bit to get it warmer. Go outside together, into the cold. Put on warm clothes and do exercise games. As a result, you quickly get warm. And if you walk back in from the cold outside air, that indoor temperature suddenly feels much warmer.
Not only the prices of gas and electricity, but also those of food, equipment, service subscriptions and other materials are rising. Any savings are therefore more than welcome. In addition, these tips will already help childcare organizations to reduce gas and electricity bills.