Analyse your school energy use - what's happening in the school kitchen?
Ysgol Gymraeg Ffwrnes, Friday, 18 October 2024
10
Analyst
KS1, KS2, KS3, KS4, KS5
What you did
1. 18/10/24 Climate Action squad interviewed Kitchen manager to see if the Increase in school dinners following the Introduction of free school meals was the cause of the increase in Gas energy use? Lizel the kitchen manager did not think so as the ovens are electric, gas is only used to heat custard and gravy.
Action- Revisit Spring Term
2.
Action- Revisit Spring Term
2.
14/2/25 Climate Action pupils from Y6 interviewed Kitchen staff using the Energy Sparks Kitchen use questionnaire.
We learned that most of the equipment is electric although we have noted an increase in pupil uptake on school dinners since Welsh Govnt introduced free school meals.
Fridges and freezers are not turned off in the holidays.
We have most of the recommendations for good practice in place.
Action
Suggest to turn fridges and freezers off in the holidays in the future.
Revisit the Kitchen Summer Term 2025
We learned that most of the equipment is electric although we have noted an increase in pupil uptake on school dinners since Welsh Govnt introduced free school meals.
Fridges and freezers are not turned off in the holidays.
We have most of the recommendations for good practice in place.
Action
Suggest to turn fridges and freezers off in the holidays in the future.
Revisit the Kitchen Summer Term 2025
Activity description
School kitchens can consume a lot of electricity. To produce hundreds of dinners to be served in a very short period of time, schools need industrial scale equipment.
Let's look at the data from schools with kitchens and schools with out. Compare the graphs of Schools and A and B with those of Schools C, D and E. The schools in one group have a kitchen onsite, the others do not. Can you tell which is which? Why
Group 1
Let's look at the data from schools with kitchens and schools with out. Compare the graphs of Schools and A and B with those of Schools C, D and E. The schools in one group have a kitchen onsite, the others do not. Can you tell which is which? Why
Group 1
Group 2
This is your schools data:
Change units
Explore
We do not have enough data at the moment to display this chart
Create a questionnaire to ask your kitchen staff about their energy use. You may want to ask questions like:
- When you do arrive and leave?
- What equipment do you switch on when you arrive?
- What time are the ovens/ dishwashers/sterilisers/ ventilation hoods/ kettles turned on and off?
- When do fridges and freezers get turned off?
Do their answers match what the data is showing you?
Answers
The schools in Group A have kitchens. Their energy consumption is typically high until lunchtime then tails off.