1. Energy Mythbusters!

2. For most schools hot water is provided by your boiler – which is in turn controlled by your TREND Building Management System It’s better to turn hot water heaters on and off, rather than leaving them on all of the time. TRUE Energy Mythbusters! But… Many point of use electric hot water heaters in schools, including those for hot drinks, are controlled manually! These should be turned off over night and on weekends and for holidays. They should come on an at least an hour before anticipated use. 7 day timers are ideal and we can advise the most appropriate type.

3. Very common myth, causing lots of people to waste money on lighting. It doesn’t take significantly more electricity for a light bulb to turn itself back on. If it’s on, it’s using electricity, and if it’s off, it isn’t. Modern low-energy light bulbs do use a very small amount of extra energy when you first turn them on, as do florescent strip lights. But this is not significant and you should always switch the lights off when you’re leaving a room – even if you’re only popping out for a few minutes. It takes more electricity to turn lights off and on again than to leave them on. FALSE Energy Mythbusters!

4. It’s cheaper to use radiators rather than small electric heaters Electric heaters are one of the most expensive forms of heating. Generally, the cheapest way is using an efficient gas central heating system, with a full set of thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs), a room thermostat and a timer (or a TREND Building Management System) BUT… School office staff often require warmer temperatures and may override controls raising whole school temperatures via the central heating system to achieve this – resulting in overheated classrooms! This is not an efficient option – warm clothing may be the best bet! Please speak to us if you have this problem in your school – windows open in winter are a common indicator – or electric heaters being used! Energy Mythbusters! TRUE (generally!)

5. Many devices draw power when plugged in and not in use. This is sometimes known as 'vampire power'. The same applies for appliances left in standby mode. This can easily be avoided by turning devices fully off, or better still switching devices off at the wall, or using timer switches. Modern Tablet or laptop chargers stop consuming energy when they have reached full charge but remain plugged in. FALSE Energy Mythbusters!

6. Again, this is a form of vampire power. Some chargers (including some modern ones from Apple) turn themselves off when not connected to a device, but do not rely on this! Phone or laptop chargers still use electricity when they're plugged in, but not connected to the device. TRUE Energy Mythbusters!

7. When a computer’s screen saver is on, it is saving energy. FALSE Many people think that when the screen saver pops up, the computer has gone into energy saving mode. But you've likely noticed how quickly the computer screen pops up again when you touch a key or move the mouse. That's because the screen saver doesn't do anything at all to save energy. In fact, a screen saver is actually a file that your computer is running, which means it's as hard at work as ever. Tip: To get the most energy savings from your computer, skip the screen savers. Instead, set your computer to go into sleep mode after a short period of inactivity— say, 10 or 15 minutes. Also, set your monitor to turn off in the same, or an even shorter time frame. Turn monitors off when not in use. Turn computers off when they are finished with for the day – i.e. Last group Energy Mythbusters!

8. Strawberries grown in Scotland have a higher carbon footprint than those grown in Spain and shipped to the UK TRUE Strawberries grown in Spain receive lots of natural sunlight and require minimal nutrient input. Despite higher carbon emissions associated with shipping, Strawberries grown in Scotland are grown in peat, which is a carbon store and therefore releases a greater amount of carbon!... Energy consumption is not always straight forward – but if in doubt, involve pupils and investigate your energy consumption, e.g. with plug in monitors! Energy Mythbusters!