Lincoln school goes green with LED lighting

A Lincoln school is one of the first in the city to begin cutting its carbon footprint by installing greener lighting.

William Farr School in Welton installed LED lighting across the school, costing £135,000.

Previously, the secondary school has also fitted 50kW of solar panels and an “intelligent boiler control” to ensure the heating systems work efficiently.

It also added special insulation in 200 key areas around the school’s boiler rooms.

The school is now saving 164 tonnes of CO2 a year, and its energy bills are down by over £30,000 a year.

William Farr is still looking at ways to become even greener, such as another 200kW of solar panels and external LED lighting, with special sensors.

These measures could increase CO2 savings by a further 50% and another £20,000 off the energy bills.

Trevor Hughes, business manager at the school said: “We are really proud of all the work that has been done at the school to reduce our impact on the environment.

“The projects don’t just reduce our carbon footprint. They make financial sense too and that means we can invest more of our money in educating our pupils.

“But we will not be resting on our laurels and have exciting plans to enhance the school’s green credentials further.”

The school received advice through Lincolnshire County Council’s sustainability team, which gives schools help to develop cost and carbon footprint saving measures.

All local schools can sign up to the programme, called School’s Collaboration on Resource Efficiency (SCoRE), for free.

Steve Golightly, senior sustainability officer at the county council, said: “William Farr is a shining example of what can be achieved if you are committed to the green agenda.

“The school has been keen to explore every possibility and we have managed to help them achieve a lot of their goals.

“Already the changes made are cutting both the CO2 emissions and the annual energy bills considerably and it’s great to see everyone’s efforts pay off.”