Executive Summary
The Scottish Courts & Tribunals Service (SCTS) partnered with OCS to deliver a transformative low-carbon retrofit of the Edinburgh High Courts, a historic, B-listed building located within Edinburgh’s Old Town Conservation Area and UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The project focused on improving the building’s poor energy efficiency (EPC D rating) while maintaining its heritage status and ensuring uninterrupted court operations. Key measures included LED lighting upgrades, enhanced ventilation controls, advanced metering, and AI-driven building management analytics.
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£2.1Million
In funding secured from the Scottish Government
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23%
Reduction in energy consumption by 2024
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70%
Cut in lighting energy, by using energy-efficient LEDs.
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£70000 +
Projected annual cost savings
The Brief
Edinburgh High Court, built in 1936 and spanning four stories across 5,232m², presented a unique challenge: improve its energy performance in line with net-zero goals while preserving its historic character and maintaining full operational functionality.
Given its B-listed status and location within a UNESCO World Heritage Site, all interventions needed to be sensitive to strict conservation regulations. The project aimed to significantly reduce energy use, cut carbon emissions, and deliver measurable financial savings, all without disruptive impact on daily court proceedings.
The Outcome
OCS developed a comprehensive retrofit strategy that combined innovative technology with careful planning to respect the building’s listed status.
- Replaced all corridor and stairwell lighting with energy-efficient LEDs
- Installed temperature and CO₂ sensors in courtrooms to optimise HVAC operation and cut unnecessary energy use.
- Circuit-level monitoring was deployed across the low voltage panels, with data integrated into the Meterology platform to enable real-time energy tracking and identify inefficiencies.
- AI-powered grid edge analytics were also introduced, using insights from the Building Management System to continuously optimise heating, ventilation and cooling, improving system responsiveness while reducing waste.
BEST Outcomes
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OCS delivered a smooth, low-carbon retrofit without disrupting court operations, while securing £2.1 million in funding to support SCTS’s net-zero goals.
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Smart metering and building intelligence systems helped optimise energy use automatically, reducing the need for manual oversight.
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Carefully selected technologies, including LED lighting, enhanced ventilation controls and BMS upgrades, balanced sustainability with the building’s listed status.
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The team adapted to heritage restrictions and operational challenges, keeping the project on track while ensuring the court remained fully functional.
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The project is achieving major results, with a 23% energy reduction so far and over £70,000 in annual savings expected once complete.
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0%
Predicted Energy Reduction
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70% Energy Reduction Achieved (so far)
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Productivity
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Social Value
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Innovation
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Sustainability
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Productivity
