Leicester College
December 20, 2010
As part of a dramatic overhaul to upgrade its facilities for students and in keeping with Building Regulations Part L, Leicester College has replaced old gas boilers with state-of-the-art solar thermal technology that provide up to 70 percent of its annual hot water needs and cut energy bills at its vocational training campus.
The college, which is one of the largest in the UK with 27,600 students and 1,600 staff, is one of the first in the country to adopt evacuated tube solar thermal technology to service its hot water needs as part of its commitment to sustainability. Freeman's Park campus, which incorporates a vast range of specialist vocational facilities, including an industry standard kitchen, now features 300 Kingspan Solar Thermomax vacuum tubes, which will service its hot water needs all-year-round.
Robin Dalby, Maintenance and Development Co-ordinator at Leicester College says: “Before installing the Thermomax solar tubes, we were using gas boilers that were energy guzzlers and costly to run. We were keen to implement an environmentally friendly option, without compromising on performance. Switching to Thermomax solar tubes was the perfect solution, as we could reduce our carbon footprint whilst simultaneously making significant savings on our hot water bills.”