In a bid to significantly increase its energy efficiency, Flegg High School in Martham, Norfolk, built in the 1960s, has undergone some major changes over the last few years.
In 2009, the 20+ year old Broag-Remeha oil boilers in the main boiler house were replaced with a 550kW Remeha- Gilles Biomass boiler which has made a key contribution, by reducing the school’s CO2 emissions by an estimated 177 tonnes per annum and with an estimated annual financial saving of £7,000.
The boiler is fuelled by wood pellets, which are stored in the now redundant oil tank room; they are moved to the boiler by two pellet augers, controlled by the boiler. Wood pellets were chosen because of the shape of the old oil tank room and the fact that a new wood pellet plant had opened just 22 miles away in Lowestoft, where the pellets are formed from waste sawdust.
Apart from the environmental and financial benefits of biomass, the school intends using the installation as a teaching resource to increase the knowledge of the students about the environment and the positive effects of sustainable fuels. The school is just about to install a wind turbine and has applied for permission to fit solar panels.
Remeha-Gilles Biomass boilers are modulating, fully controllable and automatic. Fuelled by low to zero carbon fuels (wood chips or wood pellets) the combustion chamber is designed for high temperature operation, which, combined with the long duration of time the gases remain in the chamber, ensures clean combustion.