Press release
Ministers Foley and Ryan welcome initial progress report from the Schools Energy Retrofit Pathfinder Programme
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Published on
Last updated on
Minister for Education Norma Foley and Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan have welcomed the initial progress report from the jointly funded Schools Energy Retrofit Pathfinder programme. The cutting edge programme demonstrates the approach to deep retrofit in the schools’ sector, testing energy efficiency solutions and renewable heat technology as evident from the feedback on one of the 2021 pathfinder schools Scoil Mhuire Boys National School in Monaghan.
The completed project has resulted in the building BER value improving from a C Rating to a B1 rating, which greatly improves the school’s energy performance. The building energy rating has shown a building carbon emission reduction of approximately 50% after works.
The school reopened on 30 August as planned and the project was completed on budget.
Minister Foley said:
“The positive feedback from Scoil Mhuire is very welcome and the learnings from this project and the other continuing pathfinder projects is informing a much larger national schools’ programme for the energy retrofit of schools built prior to 2008 as included in the National Development Plan and the delivery of the new Climate Action Plan.”
Minister Ryan said:
“I am heartened to hear such positive results and feedback from the Scoil Mhuire Boys National School. The energy upgrades carried out will not only deliver significant energy savings and emission reductions for your school but will make it a much warmer, healthier place to learn, thrive and teach in. The Pathfinder Programme is also continuously developing, so we can roll these types of upgrades out on a much larger scale to more schools in the coming years.”
School Principal Colm Mac Cinna noted:
“The scheme was a resounding success for us as a school. This work has transformed our school building. All the exterior work makes it look like new again. We can now enjoy a comfortable internal environment. We are delighted with the outcomes and are looking forward to monitoring our energy consumption.
“On behalf of the Scoil Mhuire school community, I wish to thank An Roinn Oideachais, SEAI and all involved in this scheme for transforming our school. We will be forever grateful for all that has been done.”
The pathfinder programme has retrofitted 41 schools across Ireland to date with work on an additional 9 schools added in 2021 underway. 2022 sees six additional schools undergoing deep retrofit to a Building Energy Rating (BER) of B with renewable heating systems. Each school undergoes a comprehensive assessment to ensure that the measures are suitable for that school and will deliver value to both the school and learnings for the national retrofit programme.
The 2022 pathfinder is jointly funded with a €28 million budget from the Department of Education and Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and the Planning and Building Unit in the Department of Education, with support from Limerick Clare ETB.
Scoil Mhuire Boys National School in Monaghan – upgraded as part of the 2021 Pathfinder programme
The main focus of the programme is to greatly improve the energy efficiency of the selected buildings with a range of deep fabric upgrades, renewable heating solutions and ventilation systems to help deliver on the sectors energy and decarbonisation targets.
Scoil Mhuire Boys National School is a two-storey storey building which was originally constructed in 1969 and received an extension in 2007. The school is located on an elevated site overlooking Monaghan Town. The school consists of 15 mainstream classrooms and has a total staff of 24 including teachers and SNAs.
The design team for the project, O’Shea Leader and Partners, was appointed on 20January 2021 and after an extensive consultation, design and tender process Brendan Loughran & Sons Limited was appointed as the main contractor on the project on 2 July.
The entire building was upgraded with external wall insulation. The remaining fabric upgrading including a high level of air tightness upgrades around all windows and doors in the building and the replacement of external doors in the building. The windows in the 1969 section of the building were all replaced with new double glazed units with U-value of 1.2 W/m2K.
The heating upgrade involved retaining the existing condensing gas boilers, to work in conjunction with new low temperature air source heat pumps, including buffer tank. This has resulted in a school having its heating requirement from a renewable source with supporting ventilation. Other heating system work included new radiators, control valves and overhead heaters to the general purpose hall.
The other improvement works carried out as part of the School’s Energy Pathfinder Programme were the replacement of some of the existing light fittings with new LED lighting, emergency lighting and controls throughout the building. The provision of an electrical charge points in the staff car park and the location of photovoltaic panels on the roof to allow renewable energy generation on site. This energy generation is displayed in the building in order to inform the staff and pupils of the amount being generated. The building’s existing building energy management system has been upgraded to control both the mechanical ventilation units and heat pumps.
The completed project has resulted in the building BER value improving from a C Rating to a B1 rating which greatly improve the school’s energy performance. Building energy rating has shown a building carbon emission reduction of approximately 50% after works.
The school reopened on 30 August as planned and the project was completed on budget.
The work at Scoil Mhuire in 2022 consisted of the following installations:
Image 1: Original Elevation pre energy retrofit
Image 2: Same elevation post retrofit
The Department of Education is at the forefront of design with respect to sustainable energy in school buildings and this performance has been recognised at both national and international level with sustainable energy awards for excellence in design and specification.
Schools that are designed and built, in accordance with the department’s schools’ technical guidance documents must achieve an A3 Building Energy Rating A3 and have typically up to 20% higher performance than required by the current Building Regulations, along with 10% of primary energy provided via photovoltaics and infrastructure provision for electric vehicle charging.
All new technologies and approaches are tested to ensure compatibility with school design and operational requirements. Successful and repeatable results are then incorporated into all new school designs and refurbishments.
The department’s technical guidance documents set the benchmark for sustainable design in school buildings with a clear focus on energy efficiency and they are based on solid energy research projects. The department’s policy is supported by a strong research programme, with 51 research projects at various stages.
The department and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland are involved in an energy efficient retrofit pathfinder scheme for schools since 2017. The longer-term outcome of the pathfinder will be to create an accurate and scalable model for energy efficient retrofits of schools across Ireland. A deep energy retrofit programme for schools built prior to 2008 is due to be rolled out as included in the National Development Plan.
The pathfinder programme builds on significant investment by the Department of Education in energy efficiency through the 2009/10 Cavity and Attic Insulation/Water Conservation Scheme and ongoing Summer Works and refurbishment projects.
The 2022 pathfinder is jointly funded with a €28 million budget from the Department of Education and Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and the Planning and Building Unit in the Department of Education with support from Limerick Clare ETB.
The schools for the 2022 programme are:
Design teams are being appointed to each school, with deep energy efficiency works to commence from summer 2022. The upgrades target a Building Energy Rating of B, 50% energy efficiency improvement and 51% emissions reduction. The works typically involve upgrades to the building fabric including wall and roof insulation, doors and windows, air tightness improvements, LED lighting and heating upgrades as well as renewable technologies.
The general principles and approach to school selection include schools meeting energy monitoring and reporting requirements and demonstrating a strong and holistic commitment to energy management practices through participation in the ‘Energy in Education’ programme. The programme selection also seeks to enable various cross sections of school types and sizes, energy consumption profiles and different elements of construction type and heritage/ conservation requirements where specific learnings are being targeted. The pathfinder programme is thus delivered on broad assessment in line with the above considerations and not on an invitation basis.
SEAI and the Department of Education have also partnered for a number of years on a range of initiatives, collectively called ‘Energy in Education’, to support the improvement of energy efficiency in schools. There is a strong focus on the provision of practical guidance and direction to schools via the ‘Energy in Education’ project.
The website www.energyineducation.ie provides a one-stop-shop designed to help school boards of management, principals, teachers, administrators, caretaking staff, pupils, parents, architects, engineers and contractors to improve energy use practice and reduce school operating costs along with helping to protect the environment for future generations. The project also provides energy management training for schools along with an energy assessment from a professional.
In addition, the SEAI schools’ programme works with schools, both students and teachers, to provide curriculum material around the energy retrofit, unlocking the educational benefit to these works. More information is available about the SEAI schools’ programme at www.seai.ie.