Devon County Council

devon.gov.uk

From Sian Hester, Exeter 383523, November 23,2008

County Hall in Exeter has been given a 'green' bill of health in a test to see how efficiently the occupants of the building are using energy.

From 1^st October all large buildings including schools must be assessed and display an 'Display Energy Certificate'

On a scale from A to G, where A being the most energy efficient and G the least, County Hall scored a 'C', placing it above the nationally recognised benchmark for such a building. The annual qualifying emissions for County Hall were 941 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Meter readings along with an assessment of heating, insulation and ventilation systems were used to produce this operational rating.

Leader of Devon County Council Council, Brian Greenslade said; "Buildings account for two thirds our total energy consumption so I'm very pleased to see that County Hall has achieved a good rating from this initial assessment. However, we expect to do better next year as the investments we are making to improve the energy efficiency of our heating and lighting systems are implemented over the coming months."

"We take our environmental responsibilities very seriously and by making our buildings more efficient plus the other wider measures we endorse such as promoting greener ways to travel and our leaflet on how to reduce energy consumption in the home, we hope to be really doing our bit for Devon".

Councillor Margaret Rogers, Devon County Council Executive Member for Environment, said: "This is really like a 'check-up' for all public buildings and will help us improve the energy efficiency for County Hall. We all need to conserve energy and this goes a long towards improving and maintaining our status as an environmentally conscious council""

The certificate which is on public display in the reception area shows the energy usage of County Hall and the amount of CO₂ produced by the building. The assessment also includes an advisory report with recommendations on the measures required to improve the energy rating.

One of the measures planned is the introduction of a biomass boiler which will produce heat by burning locally supplied woodchip. It will replace the gas fired boiler and is expected to reduce annual CO₂ emissions by about 300 tonnes. It is scheduled to be commissioned by the end of the financial year.

Notes to Editors

Consumption data below

	Heating	Electrical
Annual Energy use (kWh/m2/year)	73	62
Typical Energy use (kWh/m2/year)	123	95

For more information on DEC (Display Energy Certificate) go to www.communities.gov.uk/epbd

• Leader of the Council - Cllr Brian Greenslade
• Chief Executive -- Phil Norrey

• Budget £800 million
• Key investments include:
• Schools £349 million
• Adult and Community Services £164 million
• Environment, Economy and Culture £106 million
• Children and Young People £101 million

• Other important County Council support includes:
• Building programme: £185 million for new schools, roads, care services, libraries and recycling centres

• Political make-up:
• County Council seats: 62
• 33 Liberal Democrat
• 23 Conservative
• 4 Labour
• 2 Independent
• Next County Council elections: May 7, 2009

• Key stats:
• Population: 741,000
• Schools: 365
• Pupils: 96,200
• Children looked after: 584
• Adults helped to live at home: 17,622
• Residential and nursing care: 4,212 adults
• Libraries and Mobile Libraries: 61
• Roads: 12,831 kms (7,973 miles)
• Bridges: 3,500
• Public Rights of Way: 4,960 kms (3,200 miles)
• Streetlights: 71,000
• Illuminated road signs: 10,917
• Recycling Centres: 20
• Recycling rate: 49.21%

Figures may be subject to change

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