News

Glasgow Museums Resource Centre to make £1.5m in green upgrades

Image: Glasgow Museums Resource Centre (Glasgow Life)

Heat pumps and solar panels will reduce carbon emissions at the facility which houses over a million artefacts.

Glasgow Life has been granted over £1.5 million to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions at Glasgow Museums Resource Centre (GMRC), a storage facility and visitor centre which houses 1.4 million objects from Glasgow City’s Collections, ranging from fossils to fine art.

The grant forms part of the Scottish Government’s £20 million initiative for the 2024/25 financial year, aimed at helping public buildings adopt environmentally sustainable solutions. Glasgow City Council is supplementing the grant with additional capital funding, bringing the total investment to £1.9m. The project, set to commence in August and conclude by year-end, will be managed by CBRE Global Workplace Solutions (GWS).

The upgrade works will involve a overhaul of the centre’s energy systems. Gas boilers will be replaced with air source heat pumps, and solar panels will be installed to harness renewable energy. The project also includes the replacement of windows to improve insulation, an upgrade of the electrical supply and building management controls, and repairs to minimise heat loss.

Isabel Brown, Glasgow Life Head of Infrastructure Support, said: “The improvements at Glasgow Museums Resource Centre will make a huge difference; we estimate they will enable annual savings of around 156 tonnes of CO2.”

Oliver Metcalfe, CBRE GWS Managing Director, added: “The Glasgow Museums Resource Centre is a unique property asset as it accommodates one of Europe’s most important museum collections, so we are delighted to be supporting Glasgow Life’s estates team on this innovative energy efficiency upgrading project, from concept through to implementation.”

Since 2010/11, Glasgow Life has invested over £11m in energy-saving works, which are estimated to have saved nearly 36,000 tonnes of CO2.