The Walnuts School in Milton Keynes is an all-age community residential
special school and children’s home, currently catering for 175 pupils from Foundation
to Year 14. All pupils are on the autistic spectrum or have social communication
difficulties.
Background
As a school and home for many of the pupils, our initial survey gleaned that the lighting was not fit for purpose.
Broken lighting caused unnecessary distress for pupils who are particularly sensitive to their environment.
Despite being a relatively new building, the school had a number of inefficient fluorescent fittings which the estates team were struggling to find replacements for, as they were no longer produced.
A fully funded solution
Ineco Energy installed a fully-funded LED lighting solution at The Walnuts School. Our installation aimed to save the school money, improve the learning environment, and reduce the school’s carbon footprint. The residential Walnuts School has complex lighting requirements compared to many traditional schools, as it operates day and night, and all year round.
Designing the LED lighting
We performed a detailed site survey before specifying a lighting solution to deliver the best learning and living environment for pupils, and staff. We specified cooler colour temperature LEDs to help aid productivity and concentration in the classrooms, while warmer LEDs would encourage rest and relaxation in the bedrooms.
Installation
Our installation plan caused minimal disruption to the school day. The school buildings’ LED lighting installation took place outside of core school hours, once the children had gone home. While the residential buildings’ LED lighting installation took place during daytime school hours.
Monitoring
Our ongoing monitoring measures the school’s energy savings, which are better than expected and have delivered much needed financial savings to the school. A 5-year parts and labour warranty formed part of the installation package.
Results
Energy Savings
71%Tonnes Carbon Savings
955Financial Savings
£514,629"As the Site Manager, I thought I would have to write off 3 weeks of my life during the installation. Wow was I surprised!
The whole process from survey/design, installation to completion was totally professional and stress-free. The installation team were extremely accommodating and friendly, listening to us and working around the special needs of our school."