Schools strongly support heat decarbonisation, but barriers hinder progress, according to new Baxi research.

The survey results found:

• More than a third of UK schools continue to grapple with key challenges in achieving heating system decarbonisation.
• Technical difficulties, power requirements and funding were among the challenges facing schools upgrading to low carbon heating solutions. 
• Despite these issues, 90% of schools report net zero as a key priority, while an additional 99% confirmed that they already have net zero plans in place.
• 93% of school estates managers would likely consider installing a hybrid heat pump system.

A survey conducted by Baxi of 200 state school estates managers, consultant engineers and M&E contractors has found that while enthusiasm for net zero and support for low carbon heating systems in schools is thriving, persistent barriers remain.

The survey found extremely strong support for net zero within schools, with 90% of estates managers who responded agreeing that net zero is a priority, a sentiment echoed by 78% of consultant engineers and contractors. 99% of the school estates managers surveyed reported having a net zero plan in place. Experience and satisfaction with low carbon heating systems within schools was also high, with 95% of school estates managers having replaced a fossil fuel boiler with a heat pump in their buildings previously. 97% of all school estates managers (87% of all respondents) viewed heat pump performance and operating costs favourably.

Despite the strong support for low carbon heating and net zero in schools, the study also uncovered significant challenges faced by respondents when opting to install a low carbon heating system. The most prominent was technical difficulty as a barrier to deployment. With 36% and 39% of school estates managers and consultant engineers and contractors respectively identifying the challenge, there may be a skills gap which can stall decarbonisation projects.

Both groups also agreed that additional electricity capacity needed for low carbon heating solutions was a challenge, with 36% of consultant engineers and contractors outlining this as a barrier to decarbonisation.

School estates managers identified other core challenges, including the financial and technical feasibility of school heating system changes, infrastructure requirements, and the length of project timelines as any major refurbishment projects are typically restricted to the fixed window of time of the summer holiday period.

Additionally, the UK’s electricity pricing is placing a persistent barrier in front of those at the forefront of decarbonising state schools.

The study did identify potential solutions in the form of hybrid heat pump systems and prefabricated packaged solutions. Among Baxi survey respondents, hybrid heat pumps are a popular solution, with a slight preference for this technology over a standalone heat pump system.

80% of the consultant engineers and contractors surveyed would be likely to recommend a hybrid system, and support for hybrids among school estates managers increased with school size. This could be attributed to several factors, including costs, integration with existing hydronic systems, and the shorter installation timeframes required to install a hybrid solution versus converting to a standalone heat pump system.

However, grant support for hybrid heat pump solutions under the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) is limited, despite strong backing for the technology.

Policy recommendations

Baxi is calling for four clear steps that we believe the Government must take to ramp up the decarbonisation of our state schools and remove barriers preventing the installation of hybrid heating systems within public buildings.

1. Include heating system upgrades for schools within existing public sector support schemes, utilising GB Energy to support
2. Include hybrid heating systems within existing support schemes
3. Address the imbalance in price between gas and electricity
4. Address the skills gap to help deliver clean energy projects.

Read the survey report here. Find out more about Baxi’s solutions for schools on our website.