CYNNAL and Epson go green in Wales

CYNNAL and Epson install energy efficient projectors in Wales’ first green school

To assist CYNNAL in creating an energy efficient technology programme, Epson recommended the installation of the EMP-400We projector with Epson EasyMP™ Monitor Software, giving CYNNAL:
• Reduced running costs – low power consumption
• Remote monitoring and control – minimising on-site maintenance costs
• Peace of mind – 3 year on-site warranty and technical support

Established in 1996, CYNNAL provides curriculum and technology support across 250 primary schools and 19 secondary schools for three local authorities in North West Wales. CYNNAL sources and installs ICT equipment across its schools, and has been installing projectors since 2000.

Identifying a problem
CYNNAL has identified that schools often leave their projectors on all day and night, wasting energy and reducing lamp life, creating a costly process for schools who often complain at the frequency of replacing projector lamps.

CYNNAL contacted its preferred supplier (and Epson reseller) Matrix AVM (a leading provider of audio visual services to the UK education sector) to assist with a solution that not only had low environmental impact, but also reduced costs for their school network.

Matrix AVM asked Epson to assist CYNNAL in devising a network that offered remote monitoring and that would be energy efficient for a primary school (Ysgol Y Graig, Llangefni). The project was to be used as a pilot before being rolled out across
CYNNAL’s school network.

Richard Hutchinson, Matrix AVM, said ‘We have been working with Epson, the leading projector brand, for a number of years. Epson’s projectors and network systems were a clear cost saver and the best solution for CYNNAL.’

Ysgol Y Graig is a new-build school on a greenfield site in Llangefni on the Isle of Anglesey, and is the first ‘green’ school developed by the authority. Ysgol Y Graig is the first school on the island to use a sustainable timber panel system. Half of the roof is a sedum green roof system and the school also includes solar panels, a wind turbine and a ground heat pump. The school is designed to be self-sufficient from a power point of view, and most materials used in the school are recycled.

The environmentally friendly design of Ysgol Y Graig aims to provide low energy consumption, making it important for the school to have a technology system that matches its environmentally friendly ethos.

Gwilym Elis Jones, CYNNAL’s ICT Manager, said ‘It was important for us to get the most energy efficient technology systems and products in place for our school, Ysgol Y Graig, and through workingwith Epson we believe we have found a solution tocut costs and conserve energy across our school network. We have installed Epson projectors in over 200 of our schools, so we already have experience of the quality and reliability of the brand.’

To save energy, promote a more efficient way of operating and enable CYNNAL’s technicians to spend less time travelling from school-to-school to tend to each projector unit, Epson recommended the Epson EasyMP™ Monitor Suite. This system provides a more sophisticated way of managing the projector fleet for CYNNAL as the software enables the technicians to monitor and operate each projector remotely. CYNNAL can programme each projector to turn off at a set time, at the end of the school day for example, ensuring that they are not left running overnight wasting energy and lamp life.

Each of the Ysgol Y Graig’s 12 classrooms has a Smart board and an Epson EMP-400We short throw projector. The Epson EMP-400We model was suggested for the school because the vaulted roof of the school would have made ceiling mounting for the
projectors impossible. The projector is mounted close to the screen so that teachers and pupils can work on the whiteboard without getting in the way of the projector, causing shadows.

The school hall has had an Epson EMP-6110 projector installed. This higher brightness projector has been designed for bigger rooms and is networked to be monitored in the same way as the classroom projectors.

Greater efficiency
While the main advantage of Epson’s EasyMP™ Monitor Suite is the remote monitoring of the projector fleet, there were other factors which contributed to the decision.

The Epson EasyMP™ software can also be set up to send ‘alert’ emails to those responsible for ordering equipment for the school – to warn that the projector lamp is nearing the end of its life, ensuring a replacement is ready in stock, for example. Via monitoring the units remotely, CYNNAL can see if the running temperature of the projector is too high; if so, a technician can advise the school to clean the projector’s filter before a problem occurs.

Another benefit of Epson EasyMP™ is access to the projector’s remote control functions over the network, so if a member of staff is having trouble using the projector, a CYNNAL technician can provide remote assistance and advice. Epson’s unique E-TORL lamp technology delivers a higher brightness for a lower wattage than traditional projector lamps, further saving Ysgol Y Graig costs and energy.

CYNNAL is part of the Epson ‘self-maintainer’ programme. Their technicians are trained by Epson’s technical services staff to enable them to diagnose faults and carry out maintenance and repairs. As part of the self-maintainer programme, CYNNAL also holds ‘swap-out’ units so, in the unlikely event that a projector fails, it can be quickly replaced reducing down-time for CYNNAL’s schools.

Gwilym Elis Jones, CYNNAL’s ICT Manager, continued ‘As more projectors are updated and replaced throughout our schools, we aim to network all theschool’s projectors, allowing for remote monitoring as we have done in Ysgol Y Graig.’

Ian Tolfree, Senior Account Manager, Epson, added, ‘Epson is committed to designing its products to be as energy efficient as possible. For example, we have reduced the energy consumption of our projectors by 90% over 10 years, so we are pleased to have been chosen to provide the projectors for this innovative green school. By installing Epson’s EasyMP™ software into Ysgol YGraig, we have enabled CYNNAL to monitor the projectors over the network, providing them with a more time efficient, economical and environmentally sustainable solution.’