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Corfu schools looking for ways to reduce heating oil consumption

heating oil
25 Oct 2022 / 19:22

CORFU. New generation air conditioners, heaters, maintenance and cleaning of heating burners are used by School Committees to address the issue.

The Corfu School Committees are taking measures to reduce the consumption of heating oil in schools, while they have already started receiving money for the operating costs of schools, as well as subsidies specifically for the purchase of heating oil. The Presidents of the School Committees said that the energy crisis does not seem to have an impact on Corfu schools.
 
Nevertheless, solutions are being adopted to save heating oil. In South Corfu, for example, new generation air conditioners have been installed in some nurseries to provide heat, in order to save money to buy heating oil for large schools where there are more pupils.
 
"In primary education, schools are large. In order to avoid using heating oil in some nurseries, we put in air conditioners to save money and we will buy heating oil for the big schools. We are constantly asking for subsidies. The needs are many and the money is not enough. We are receiving money from the Ministry of Education for school operating costs throughout the school year. Most schools have collected some money and, if necessary, they use it to buy heating oil," said the South Corfu Primary Education Committee President Giorgos Sayias.
 
 
Heaters
 
In several primary schools of the Central Corfu Municipality another solution is applied in all-day schools. They use heaters instead of heating oil, in an effort to reduce consumption of the latter, since not all classrooms are being used but only some of them. For this school year about 80,000-100,000 tons of heating oil have been ordered for nurseries and primary schools, while there is still some left from the previous year.
 
The Central Corfu Primary Education Committee President Spyros Sourtzinos told Enimerosi that schools have already started receiving heating oil, while extra funding have been given by the Ministry in order to cover its cost.
 
 
Maintenance of heating burners
 
As for the Central Corfu junior high and high schools, the Secondary Education Committee will proceed to the maintenance of the heating burners.
 
"The Committee's intention is the maintenance and cleaning of the heating burners", the President of the Secondary Education Committee Kostas Kostalis told Enimerosi. He then went on to say that most schools have an oil burner, with the exception of some, such as the modern new school building of the Corfu 4th High School that has a heat pump, while air-conditioning units have been installed at the Special Junior High & High School.
 
 
Concern
 
Parents, however, are concerned about the energy crisis and how it will affect the operation of schools. "There is a lot of concern. The heating oil price is higher than last year. School Committees will need money to cover the cost.
 
There is still some heating oil left in the school tanks from last year, but we do not know what will happen when we run out and whether the School Committees' money will be enough," said the Corfu Union of Parents & Guardians Associations President Leonidas Trantos.