Kids are baking in classrooms. These North Shore parents say they have a solution

North Shore classrooms can be stuffy and hot in the summer, a problem likely to intensify, and some parents reckon they know what needs to be done.

Hot classrooms: We know our cities are getting hotter and our summers longer. Research released last week from the University of British Columbia found that Sydney’s summers have increased in length by nearly 50 days since the 1990s. 

• Summer days for Sydney in the study are defined as hotter than 21.4C. This is based on average summer temperatures from 1961–1990.

Particularly impacted by heat are our schools. Studies show hot classrooms can be directly related to poor educational outcomes when children can’t concentrate in stifling conditions. 

North Shore parents argue that if the sun's rays are heating up our schools, they could also help cool them down.

Solar on schools: Phil Venn has two children enrolled at Oxford Falls Grammar school, near Frenchs Forest. Last year, the school installed a 275kw solar panel system on its rooftops. He reckons every school in Australia should be doing the same. 

From his time working in commercial real estate, he sees the large, unused rooftop space of most schools as free real estate for energy generation.

“If we can help them get clean energy onto their rooftops, it reduces their operating costs … that’s more taxpayer funding towards direct education,” Venn told the Lorikeet.

Venn found he wasn’t alone. He joined his local Parents for Climate group, which is  advocating for all schools and childcare centres in Australia to have a similar set up in place.

Bigger systems: The idea isn’t new. Many schools already have solar panels installed.  According to the state government, this is the case in around 1,500 NSW public schools, out of a total of 2,200. Parents for Climate, however, argues these systems are too small to make an impact. 

Much of this solar comes from Rudd-Gillard era policy — specifically, the National Solar Schools Program — rolled out in a period where installing systems was much more expensive.

Nic Seton, the CEO of Parents for Climate, claims the solar systems of some schools in NSW are smaller than what you would see on a suburban house roof. 

The Solar our Schools campaign, which visited federal Parliament this month, is supported by local federal MPs Zali Steggall, Nicolette Boele and Jerome Laxale. 

Research from Beyond Zero Emissions — an independent Australian think tank — states that larger schools could save $114,000 a year on energy bills.

It gives the example of a smaller school - Moriah College in Sydney's eastern suburbs — saving $24,000 annually, with the system paying for itself in under five years.

Who pays: The organisation is calling on both state and federal governments to fund the installation of solar through grant programs.