Longford and Westmeath Education and Training Board embark on smart meter project

Results and key achievements

• €27,500 savings over 4 months in 2023 compared to 2022
• 33% reduction in KWh usage on weekends
• There is now a culture of energy efficiency in all schools and FET Centres

Background

Longford and Westmeath Education and Training Board (LWETB), like all Public Bodies, have energy targets set by the Government that it must meet by 2030 and 2050. 

The 2030 targets mean that all Public Bodies have an obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 51% and to improve energy efficiency by 50%. With this in mind, along with the ever-increasing cost of energy, LWETB sought ways to reduce its energy consumption and to ensure energy was being used efficiently throughout all its sites.

Longford and Westmeath Education and Training Board (LWETB) manages and operates eight community second-level schools (including 2 with PLC provisions), 1 community national school and 14 further education and training (FET) centres. It provides a range of adult and further education programmes, delivering education and training courses.

LWETB has around 1,000 staff and operates on a budget of approximately €60 million per year.

Faced with large annual energy bills, the LWETB decided to take charge of its energy use. They installed smart meters in schools and FET centres to monitor and report each building’s energy consumption.

The Project

LWETB procured an external company, Ultan Technologies, to install and monitor the smart meters across all 24 LWETB sites..

Work commenced in September 2021 and all meters were installed by April 2022. There was a Covid-19 lockdown for some of this period and this slowed down the process.

Results

The smart meters monitor energy usage every 15 minutes. They then send the data to a SensorCIS online portal where the information is analysed. 

In LWETB's head office, staff have access to view all sites and all smart meters on the online system. The school principals and FET managers have access to their location and meters on the SensorCIS online portal and are trained how to use it.

Since the smart meters were installed LWETB has seen significant energy savings:

• 28% reduction in KWh energy usage when comparing September to December 2019 (pre smart meters) and September to December 2022 (after smart meters).
•  A further 13% reduction in KWh energy usage when you compare September to December 2023 and same period in 2022. This translates to a €27,500 saving for those four months.
• A 33% reduction in KWh usage in out-of-hours energy usage. This is based on weekends in March 2022 (not all meters were installed) compared to weekends in October and November 2022.

Behavioural changes

Following the smart meter installation, the data showed that many of the schools and FET centres had the heating on every weekend. This was brought to the attention of the school principals and FET managers who then adjusted the heating schedule to ensure it was switched off at weekends.

As soon as principals and FET managers had access to the SensorCIS online portal, they immediately became more aware of their energy use.  Ultan Technologies also shared weekly energy reports which were really insightful.

There is now a culture of energy efficiency in all schools and FET centres. Staff are more energy aware and as a result are changing their behaviours. Small changes such as     turning off lights and unplugging heating or equipment when it’s not needed is making a big difference.

Staff are encouraging pupils and learners to think about their energy use and to take responsibility for reducing it as much as possible.

What's next

A significant capital investment was required at the outset to purchase and install the smart meters. LWETB found that the meters paid for themselves within 18 months thanks to the energy savings. These savings will continue every year going forward.

LWETB will continue to explore further opportunities to reduce energy consumption across its 24 sites. 

LWETB also has many building projects, both on-going and in planning that will increase the energy efficiency of its various facilities, greatly reducing the organisation’s carbon footprint.

Currently, two LWETB Community second-level schools are being retrofitted as part of the SEAI Pathfinder Project. 

This project involves retrofitting the fabric of the building of the schools. Upgrades include: 

• installing energy efficient windows and doors, 
• external wall insulation, 
• replacing the old oil heating systems with heat pumps. 

This will allow these schools to greatly reduce their carbon footprint and increase their energy efficiency.