Schools & MATs Case Study
The Leys School: 967 smart radiator valves across a complex school estate.
The Leys School deployed Energenie smart heating controls across more than 20 buildings to improve room-level heating control across a varied education estate.
The project combined retrofit smart radiator control with central scheduling around school timetables and term dates. After the initial three-year contract, The Leys renewed Energenie for a further three years.
The customer
A complex education estate with very different building-use patterns.
The Leys School operates across more than 20 buildings, with teaching spaces, boarding accommodation and other facilities whose heating requirements change throughout the day, week and term.
A single fixed heating strategy is difficult to apply efficiently across an estate with that level of variation. Rooms can be occupied at very different times, while school holidays and term dates create further changes in demand.
The challenge
Heating a school estate according to the calendar is more complex than switching it on and off.
Multiple buildings
Different buildings have different construction, occupancy and heating characteristics.
Changing timetables
Teaching rooms and other spaces may only need heating during specific periods of the day.
Term dates and holidays
School operating patterns change materially between term time, weekends and holiday periods.
Room-level variation
Individual rooms can warm and cool differently even within the same building.
Existing infrastructure
Improving control needed to work around the existing estate rather than requiring wholesale heating-system replacement.
Central oversight
Estates teams need a practical way to manage large numbers of individual radiators without relying solely on local adjustment.
The intervention
Retrofit room-level heating control across the estate.
Energenie deployed 967 smart radiator valves across more than 20 buildings, adding granular heating control while retaining the school's existing heating infrastructure.
Understand room behaviour
Build visibility around temperatures and radiator behaviour across a large number of rooms.
Identify patterns
Compare room and building behaviour and identify where heating profiles differ.
Align control with use
Use room-level controls and schedules around timetables, term dates and operating requirements.
Review performance
Use the platform to understand how rooms and buildings behave over time.
Deployment scale
Granular control across a complex estate.
The scale of The Leys deployment is significant because the project moved beyond a small pilot into broad estate use.
Each connected radiator provides a more granular control point, allowing the school to manage heating around the needs of individual rooms rather than relying only on broad building-level schedules.
The retrofit approach also meant that existing heating infrastructure could continue to be used rather than replaced simply to achieve better control.
Heating around the school day
Timetables and term dates become part of the control strategy.
School buildings do not operate on a single continuous occupancy pattern.
Energenie allows heating control to reflect the way the estate is actually used, with schedules that can be aligned more closely with teaching periods, weekends, term dates and holiday periods.
This creates a more flexible alternative to maintaining the same heating profile across rooms regardless of whether they are currently required.
Retrofit, not replacement
Better control without rebuilding the heating system.
Keep suitable infrastructure
Existing heating equipment remained part of the solution rather than being replaced simply to introduce connected control.
Add room intelligence
Smart radiator valves created more granular control at the point where heat enters individual rooms.
Manage centrally
The estate team gained the ability to manage large numbers of room-level controls through one connected platform.
Customer evidence
The strongest proof came three years later.
The Leys initially contracted with Energenie for three years. At the end of that period, the school renewed for a further three years.
That renewal is important evidence because the decision was made after the school had already operated the technology across a substantial estate and experienced the system in day-to-day use.
What the project demonstrates
Scale, operational fit and continued customer commitment.
Room-level control can work across complex estates
The deployment extended to 967 radiator controls across more than 20 buildings.
Heating can follow the school calendar
Timetables, term dates and changing room use can form part of the heating-control strategy.
The customer chose to continue
A further three-year renewal followed the original three-year contract.
Why this matters for schools
School estates are particularly suited to schedule-led heating optimisation.
Education buildings often combine predictable timetables with highly variable room use, making room-level control and scheduling particularly relevant.
Term-time variation
Heating requirements can change dramatically between teaching weeks, weekends and school holidays.
Mixed-use buildings
Classrooms, halls, boarding spaces and offices can require different operating profiles.
Large estates
Central visibility helps estates teams manage many rooms without relying solely on manual local control.
Schools energy insights
Explore the wider school energy-management opportunity.
How schools waste heating energy
Explore the common operating patterns that lead to unnecessary heating across education estates.
Read the Insight →CIF & SCA energy efficiency
Understand how energy and heating projects may fit into wider school estate investment and funding discussions.
Read the Funding Guide →The Leys School insight
Explore the longer-form analysis behind the school deployment and what the data revealed.
Read the Detailed Case Study →The solution behind the project
Retrofit smart heating control for complex education estates.
Schools & MATs
See how Energenie approaches heating, energy and building-performance challenges across education estates.
Explore Schools & MATs →Smart Heating Control
Understand how connected thermostats and smart radiator controls can add more granular control to existing heating systems.
Explore Smart Heating Control →Frequently asked questions
Understanding The Leys deployment.
How many smart radiator valves were installed at The Leys School?
The Leys deployed 967 Energenie smart radiator valves across more than 20 buildings.
Did Energenie replace the school's heating system?
No wholesale heating-system replacement was required. Energenie added retrofit room-level control around suitable existing infrastructure.
Can heating schedules follow school timetables?
Yes. Energenie control strategies can be aligned with room use, timetables, term dates, weekends and holiday periods.
Did The Leys renew its contract?
Yes. The school renewed its original three-year Energenie contract for a further three years.
Does Energenie guarantee a fixed percentage energy saving?
No. Building type, heating infrastructure, weather, occupancy and existing controls all influence the outcome. Energenie prefers project-specific baselines and measured results rather than universal percentage-saving claims.
Control around the school day
What would room-level heating visibility reveal across your estate?
Energenie can start with a representative building or room cohort, understand how heating currently behaves and build the evidence required to determine whether wider deployment is justified.