The fund is designed to be off-balance sheet; simple to administrate and apply for; and presents no commercial risk to successful applicants. Any educational establishment – local authority maintained, academy, or faith school - is eligible to apply. Independent schools are also eligible and welcome to apply.

Energys Group is already known for its installations of energy efficient retrofit technologies including LED lighting in over 1000 schools and colleges. The company believes its new Clean Air as a Service (CAaaS) model and dedicated £3.5m fund, will act as a much-needed driver for safer, more energy efficient schools, in line with a school’s duty of care to provide a safe environment.

Well-managed indoor air quality delivers a wide range of benefits including:

• lower rates of sickness and absenteeism

• higher levels of productivity and cognition, leading to better results

• peace of mind to staff, pupils and other building users.

Energys Group’s CAasS finance model is very similar to that used in other sectors where the upfront cost of investment in hardware is prohibitive to uptake. For a pre-agreed monthly ‘packaged fee’, a school can benefit from Energy Group’s Goji Air indoor air management technology, any ongoing maintenance and spares, plus warrantees. Energys Group calculates that, on average, the cost of monthly payment will be 5p per child, per day – averaging at £17/per month over a 5-year agreement.

‘Paradigm shift’

“The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a paradigm shift in attitudes towards indoor air quality,” says Kevin Cox, chief executive at Energys Group. “Last Autumn, we saw two things happening in the school’s market. Our customers were already struggling to cope with the rising cost of energy in a volatile market, whist Covid safety concerns led to national guidance that ‘open windows’ meant ‘safer spaces’. Of course, the truth is, open windows do not necessarily result in ‘safer environments’. Plus, of course, it creates a massive additional demand for space heating – and this is something most schools and colleges can ill afford,” he says.

The company says this combination of factors and challenges has resulted in significant interest from schools and colleges in new approaches to clean air management. However, the recent and rapid rise in energy prices means many schools are simply unable to afford to invest in the available technologies. The new CAaaS model offers an easy ‘win-win’ route to safer, cleaner air – and a more sustainable approach to heating-related energy in school buildings.

Next steps

Schools and colleges interested in applying for its £3.5m fund for Clean Air as a Service are urged to act quickly – as funds will be released on a first-come-first-served basis; and demand is expected to be high. The first stage in the process is to register with Energys Group to book FREE No-obligation Trial with a Goji Air Unit. To do so, schools can contact Energys Group on +44 (0)1403 786212 or find via the web.