Making Decarbonisation Affordable

Register your free spot and see how we make decarbonisation affordable for schools and colleges

Decarbonising heat without breaking the budget

Schools, colleges and universities are under pressure to decarbonise but face a unique set of challenges: historic buildings, constrained sites, limited budgets, and a need for reliable, robust heating systems.

This webinar brings together Max Fordham and Q Energy to show how to make the transition to low‑carbon heating affordable in practice. We will cover two linked parts of the same problem:

• Getting heat pumps right by reducing demand, optimising design choices and choosing operational control strategies that protect performance and avoid unnecessary capital spend.
• Keeping electrification costs under control by adjusting your energy purchasing strategy and using flexible assets like battery storage to shift load and lower bills over the system lifetime.

Why Attend?

In this session, we move beyond the theory of decarbonisation to provide a practical roadmap for schools. You will learn:

• Making Decarbonisation Affordable: Understanding the financial mechanics of shifting from gas to electric and how to bridge the price disparity to protect your school's budget.
• Engineering for Resilience: Proven strategies from Max Fordham on how high-performance design and engineering excellence de-risk your heat transition.
• AI Trading and Optimisation: How Q Energy’s Smart Battery Tariff uses AI to automate energy trading, shifting your demand away from expensive peak rates to ensure you always use the cheapest, cleanest power.
• Zero-CapEx Funding: How to implement battery storage with no upfront cost, providing a permanent hedge against market volatility.

The Agenda

• Introduction: A look into the unique problems independent schools and colleges encounter, from peer pressure to decarbonise to budget constraints.
• Engineering the Transition (Bill Watts, Max Fordham): A deep dive into the decarbonisation of heat. Bill will share engineering solutions and case studies on successful heat pump implementation while addressing the reality of increased electricity demand.
• Offsetting the Cost with AI & Storage (Jo Southernwood, Q Energy): Jo introduces the Smart Battery Tariff. Learn how a CapEx-free battery solution allows your school to reduce operational costs through AI-driven trading and Battery Energy Storage.
• Live Q&A and Expert Panel: An interactive session to put your specific estate and financial questions to our experts.

Our Speakers

Bill Watts – Director of Decarbonisation, Max Fordham Bill is the Director of Decarbonisation at Max Fordham with over 40 years of experience in the design of sustainable buildings. He is a leading expert in the decarbonisation of complex estates, with a particular focus on the educational sector. Bill specialises in bridging the gap between innovative engineering and practical application, helping schools navigate the transition to net-zero through smart heat pump integration and passive design strategies.

Jo Southernwood - Net-Zero Consultant, Q Energy Jo has over19 years of experience turning climate ambition into practical action. She helps businesses navigate the transition to a low-carbon future by designing effective plans for carbon and cost reduction.