Heat decarbonisation plans for schools, written by the engineers who install the heat pumps

A heat decarbonisation plan is a costed, phased route for taking a school or college off fossil fuel heating, and we write them. Each plan surveys your existing plant, tests heat pump and hybrid options against your electrical capacity, and sets out what to replace first, what it costs and where funding could fit. The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) is no longer taking new investment, so a plan now mostly supports a Condition Improvement Fund bid or your own capital programme. We installed a 140kW heat pump from stock in 48 hours on the Chichester College estate.

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What we deliver

A plan you can act on, from the contractor that delivers the works

Many plans stall because the author never has to build what they recommend. Ours do not: the engineers who survey the plant also price, install and commission heat pumps, so the plan reflects what can actually be delivered on a live school site. It covers the existing heating and its condition, the building fabric, the electrical supply, the options for replacing gas, and a phased order of works that fits term dates and holidays.

Survey of existing boilers, pumps, controls and heat emitters, with their condition
Options appraisal: air source heat pumps, ground source, hybrid, or keeping gas for now
Electrical capacity check, because heat pumps change the load on the site
Fabric and energy-saving measures that reduce the heating the school needs
Phased roadmap with costs, running cost comparison and carbon savings
Funding fit: which route suits each phase, including Condition Improvement Fund bids

Toshiba USX modular heat pump units installed on the roof at Chichester College

Funding and net zero

Where PSDS stands, and what to do instead

These points come from Salix Finance, which delivers the scheme, and the DfE’s Condition Improvement Fund guidance for 2027-28. Funding rules change, so check the sources before you commit.

PSDS: no new investment

In June 2025 the government said it would commit no further investment to the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme beyond projects already awarded. Awarded projects remain fully funded. Phase 4 grant funding runs until 31 March 2028. If your school does not already hold an award, PSDS is not a live route.

Low Carbon Skills Fund

The Public Sector Low Carbon Skills Fund paid for heat decarbonisation plans and detailed designs. Salix shows Phase 4 as closed, and we found no open round at the time of writing. Schools that want a plan now generally fund it from their own budget, and we can scope it to fit.

Condition Improvement Fund

For academies, sixth-form colleges and small trusts, CIF is the main capital route for replacing failing heating. DfE gives priority to replacing coal and oil boilers with low carbon heating where closure is a risk, and expects a feasibility study for any low carbon bid. A heat decarbonisation plan provides much of that evidence.

Condition Improvement Fund bids

Air source heat pumps for schools

Air source heat pumps are a common route off gas for school buildings, because they sit on a roof or in a yard and connect to existing pipework. Whether the existing radiators and pipework can run at lower temperatures is something the plan checks room by room.

Air source heat pumps

Ground source heat pumps for schools

Ground source heat pumps use pipework in boreholes or buried loops, so they depend on available land and ground conditions, and they cost more to install. School playing fields can offer the space. A plan compares ground source with air source on cost, disruption and running cost, so the decision rests on your site.

Net zero schools

If your trust or local authority has a net zero target, replacing gas heating is a major step towards it. The plan breaks that into phases you can afford, ordered by plant condition so replacements happen when boilers reach the end of life and not before.

Decarbonisation and retrofit

Chichester College: heat pumps installed on a live estate

140kW

Heat pump, Chichester estate

48 hrs

Installed from stock

HVR 2025

Award for Innovative Project

20+

Years at Chichester College Group

Chichester College Group is the estate we have maintained for over 20 years, across 11 campuses under one PPM contract. Toshiba USX Edge heat pumps are installed at Chichester College, and a 140kW heat pump was installed from stock in 48 hours. The 2025 HVR Award for Innovative Project came out of that relationship. We also supported Chichester College’s CIF bid and delivered the funded works. It is the proof that a plan on paper can become a working heat pump on a school site.

Compliance

What goes into a heat decarbonisation plan

Plant surveyAge, condition and remaining life of boilers, pumps, controls and emitters, so replacement follows need.
Electrical loadExisting supply and spare capacity checked against the load that heat pumps add.
Options appraisalAir source, ground source, hybrid and retain-gas options costed on the same basis.
RoadmapPhased works ordered by plant condition and programmed around term dates and holidays.
REFCOM F-GasF-Gas registered engineers for heat pumps and other refrigerant-based plant.
CDM 2015Construction (Design and Management) Regulations: duties on delivery and the health and safety file at handover.

Related education pages

More for school and college estates

Education estates hubHVAC maintenance, PPM and MEP work for schools, academies, colleges and universities.Condition Improvement FundCIF bid support and delivery, including low carbon heating bids.School heatingBoiler servicing, replacement, controls and sports hall heating.Decarbonisation and retrofitGas-to-electric heating and heat pump retrofits delivered on live campuses.Air source heat pumpsHeat pump design, installation and maintenance for commercial buildings.Chichester College heat pumpThe chiller replacement and 140kW heat pump behind our 2025 HVR Award.

Frequently asked

Questions about heat decarbonisation plans and PSDS

What is a heat decarbonisation plan?

A heat decarbonisation plan is a document that sets out how a building or estate can stop using fossil fuels for heating. It records the existing heating and the building fabric, compares low carbon options such as heat pumps, checks the electrical supply, and puts the works into a costed, phased order. Rossair writes these for schools, academies and colleges.

Is the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme still open?

No. In June 2025 the government said it would commit no further investment to PSDS beyond projects already awarded. Those projects remain fully funded, and Phase 4 grant funding runs until 31 March 2028. The scheme is administered by Salix Finance, whose website carries the current position.

What was PSDS Phase 4?

Phase 4 was a round of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, which gave grants to public bodies for heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency projects. Awarded Phase 4 projects continue to be delivered, with grant funding running until 31 March 2028. It is not open to new applications.

Is the Low Carbon Skills Fund still available?

The Low Carbon Skills Fund funded heat decarbonisation plans and detailed designs for public bodies. Salix shows its Phase 4 as closed, and we found no later open round. Check Salix Finance for any new announcement. Many schools now commission a plan directly, and we can scope one to your site and budget.

How can a school fund a heat pump now?

Academies, sixth-form colleges and small trusts can bid to the Condition Improvement Fund, where DfE prioritises replacing coal and oil boilers with low carbon heating if closure is a risk. A low carbon bid needs a feasibility study, which a heat decarbonisation plan can supply. Larger trusts and local authorities use their School Condition Allocation, and any school can fund works from its own capital budget.

Can a school use ground source heat pumps?

It can if the site has space for boreholes or a buried loop, such as playing fields, and the ground suits it. Ground source costs more to install than air source, so the plan compares both on installation cost, disruption and running cost. Most schools with limited space look first at air source or hybrid systems.

Do heat decarbonisation plans help with net zero targets?

Yes. Replacing gas heating is a major step towards net zero, and the plan gives you a phased route and a costed order of works your trust or local authority can put into its net zero programme. Because we maintain plant as well as install it, we also set the order by plant condition, so boilers are replaced as they fail and not before.

If we’re not the right fit, we’ll tell you who is

Talk to us about a heat decarbonisation plan

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