Antsla Gymnasium

09 June 2026

Antsla Gymnasium has launched a pilot initiative aimed at reducing unnecessary energy use by encouraging more mindful radiator thermostat settings in classrooms. During colder periods, students frequently adjusted thermostats to level 5, causing classrooms to become excessively warm. School management has identified level 3 as the optimal setting to maintain the recommended classroom temperature of 20–22°C. The initiative involves all 46 classrooms and is carried out jointly by students and teachers. The school consists of three buildings, constructed in 1959, 1978 and 1979, with a total area of 6,727.8 m².

Key aspects of the pilot:

Classroom temperature monitoring: Students and teachers monitor indoor conditions in all 46 classrooms. Measurements include the thermostat setting, indoor temperature and perceived comfort level. Data was collected at 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. during the first week of March, April and May, allowing results to be compared and analysed.
Awareness-raising activities: Students and teachers jointly discuss what constitutes a comfortable indoor environment and why thermostat setting 3 is sufficient to maintain an appropriate temperature. The activities aim to support long-term behavioural change and avoid unnecessary heating.

As a result of the pilot, students have largely adopted thermostat setting 3, helping to maintain a comfortable indoor climate while reducing unnecessary energy use. Further analysis of the collected data is underway, and monitoring activities will be repeated during the next heating season from September to November.

The pilot is conducted by Flip-EC project partner Development Centre of Võru County.