In late 2020, a bid for a grant of up to £6m from the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) was submitted by Coventry City Council. Our partners at Genius Hub introduced Jigsaw Infrared’s products as a replacement for a range of gas powered heating and storage heaters at a number of building.
As part of our involvement, Jigsaw will supply equipment for installation at Cannon Park Annex School, Frederick Bird Primary School and Conroy’s in the Park and Grounds Keepers Offices, War Memorial Park.
The heating equipment will be paired with Smart controls from our partners, Genius Hub, The controls will monitor movement in the rooms as well as air temperature. The controls will be set to reduce the temperatures in the room if no one is using the space.
In combination, there will be solar and battery installations to reduce the energy use and carbon footprint in these buildings. Tesla Powerwall 2’s will be deployed to gather energy to increase flexibility of energy use. Currently, Council buildings contribute to around 1/3 of the organisation’s direct energy-related carbon emissions.
Jigsaw, alongside Genius Hub provided calculations, site visits, design schematics and installation training to maximise the efficiency of the equipment.
Cllr Jim O’Boyle, Coventry City Council’s Cabinet Member for Jobs and Regeneration, said:
“Tackling climate change is a priority for us. This grant funding would allow the Council to continue moving away from traditional fossil-fuel heating systems, make our buildings more energy efficient and reduce our carbon output.”
“It’s really important that we do all we can to reduce our carbon footprint as soon as we can so we need measures like this in place to make sure we can achieve our ambition.”
“Our public buildings need to be future-proofed, and we need to implement sustainable energy measures to ensure that there is a future for our planet. If we are successful in our bid we will be able to make a real difference now and into the future.” (Council to bid for £6m decarbonisation fund. Coventry Gov Website. 2020)
The finances have been sourced from the £1bn fund, launched by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Installation of the equipment is expected to be completion by August 2021. The winter season will be used to test and report back on the difference in comfort levels, energy efficiency and payback periods of the equipment.
Ongoing Projects
The role out to further buildings in the district is possible based on the winter period test figures. The possibility is that the decarbonisation team will look at all current buildings using electric heating and hot water. Smart control systems and fast response Infrared heating provides a room by room solutions for all spaces.
Matt Billington, MD Jigsaw Infrared, said “the team is extremely happy to be involved with Coventry City Council on their decarbonisation goal. The onsite support has demonstrated the possibility to increase a buildings efficiency and control whilst increasing warmth and comfort. Using renewable energy only increases the savings of carbon emissions.”