How do we make Winchester Science Centre more sustainable? This is one of the exciting challenges being explored by our Estates Team to turn the pledges made in our Charity's Sustainability Strategy into impactful actions. To help us on our journey, we asked Hoare Lea, an award-winning engineering consultancy firm specialising in energy and sustainability, to conduct an analysis of our Science Centre. At the end of December, we received the final report and the full analysis revealed that we could reduce our carbon emissions by approximately 75%, the same amount produced by 12 to 15 average homes yearly, and lower our energy usage by 60%, the same as 967 fridges!
In March 2024, we began working with Hoare Lea on a sustainability analysis. They worked with us to look at a number of different aspects of our building including how airtight we are, the materials the building is made from, our ventilation system, our heating and how we power the Centre.
One of the more visual tests Hoare Lea undertook was an air permeability test to find out how airtight the Science Centre currently is. How is it done? The mechanical ventilation system was turned off, all doors and windows were closed, then the Science Centre was filled with smoke to help us see if there were any holes in the building! Don’t worry, there was no fire, the smoke was water vapor from a handheld haze machine. The outcome of this test was that we discovered that our building beats current air permeability standards! As a result, we were able to make a plan to improve our radiator system to ensure we make an impact long-term.
Joe Bennett, Head of Estates for Wonderseekers said: “Working with Hoare Lea on our sustainability analysis has been an extremely positive and productive experience. Their expertise and practical approach have given us a clearer understanding of how to reduce carbon emissions, improve energy efficiency and provided us with a greater understanding of how our Science Centre’s infrastructure currently operates. This collaboration will help us make informed decisions about what we need to do to improve our sustainability, for the benefit of our community and the Charity for the long term.”
This is just the beginning of our sustainability journey; we know we still have a long way to go to reach our Charity’s goal of being carbon neutral by 2030. But we are pleased with our progress so far and excited to continue our mission to make sure Wonderseekers and Winchester Science Centre can have a positive impact on children‘s learning and our natural world.
