A major infrastructure programme to help tackle climate change by removing gas boilers from dozens of schools, leisure centres, libraries, and community centres is to be launched in the borough.

The work has been made possible after Hounslow Council bids for grants secured £7.65 million for schools in Hounslow and £11.3 million for public buildings from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.

Gas boilers will be replaced with low carbon alternatives that will help Hounslow tackle climate change and reach the borough's target to be carbon neutral by 2030.

The way buildings are heated has to change because heating currently makes a significant contribution to climate change.

According to the Climate Change Committee, 19% of the UK's greenhouse gas emissions come from warming-up the places we live and work.

Gas boilers will be replaced with the latest generation of 'heat pumps' which are a highly efficient way of bringing heat into buildings.

The technology is similar to household fridges, where warm air is moved from inside a fridge to a radiator on the outside. Heats pumps operate in reverse, extracting warm air from outside buildings and bringing it inside.

Heat pumps require considerably less electricity than electric heaters, and to reduce carbon emissions even further the Council's contractors will fit solar panels alongside the heat pump installations to generate the electricity they consume.

New LED lighting will also make energy reductions, and more work is planned for later stages of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.

The scheme will not only reduce carbon emissions it will also bring substantial financial savings for many buildings.

One local school is expected to cut its energy bills in half and the money saved will be reinvested to provide better education opportunities for pupils.

The savings across dozens of public buildings will be substantial, allowing ratepayers' money to go further and provide better services for residents and businesses.

The programme of works will be completed by March 2022.