Energy saving actions at Clare College

Clare College’s Environmental Policy has guided and inspired the actions of College staff and students for the last five years, and so much has been achieved.  This month we will look at what has been done in the area of energy saving.

Maintenance works have given facilities staff at Clare College, led by Estates Director Deborah Hoy, an opportunity to carry out improvements on existing systems to reduce energy consumption. These improvements have included improving insulation, installing energy efficient lighting, lowering of washing machine temperature set points, installing aerated showerheads to reduce the demand for hot water and the improvement of heating controls such as installing Building Management Systems (BMS) which optimize boiler use. Improved controls and temperature management has allowed the College to have flexibility when it comes to its heating schedule, and heating systems are only switched on when needed. Boilers have been replaced with more efficient alternatives and metering has been put in place to help the College track energy usage and to identify any problem areas. Like other Colleges, electricity supplied to Clare is on a green tariff.

The College has worked hard to engage students in energy saving and has run student staircase competitions to see which staircase can save the most energy. Some graduate properties also receive feedback their energy consumption, and this has led to greater communication between students and the College when it comes to reporting faults.

The investment of time, imagination and money into tackling the issue of energy has resulted in substantial savings for the College. An electrical energy saving of £6,000 per year has been realised at the Memorial Court, while the refurbishment of Castle House is saving the College £3,000 year.

Outside of their buildings, Clare has recently invested in an electrical vehicle, which is powered from the green electricity.

Going forward, the College intends to not just look at the amount of energy their new £10million building will consume, but they will also look at the embedded carbon of the building materials they use.