Whisky to Keep British School Children Warm

Whisky’s soothing quality may be well known but it would be rather strange to keep school children warm by using the most popular stimulating liquid.

Fortunately, Edinburgh City Council is not suggesting Tynecastle High students to gulp down alcohol to benefit from its heat.

However, starting 2010, the replacement building for the existing high school will use waste heat from the North British Distillery nearby.

The new school, to be built on McLeod Street in the capital, will use an innovative system to cut its energy bill dramatically.

Water supplied from the school will pass through a heat exchanger which will be warmed up by the waste heat produced by the distillery.

The scheme will cost 200,000 pounds but is expected to have paid for itself in energy savings within four years.

Marilyne McLaren, education convener, called this arrangement a creative answer within a local community.

"This agreement demonstrates how a creative answer can be found within a local community through our school working closely with local businesses,” the Scotsman quoted him, as saying.

A similar project at the Bowmore distillery in Islay heats an adjacent swimming pool.

David Rae, managing director of the North British Distillery, considered it as a mutually benefiting scheme for both the school and the distillery.

"This is an environmentally responsible project which will deliver benefits to both the school and the distillery,” he said.
Source-ANI
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