ENERGY IDEAS · SPRING 1997 / WINTER 1996 · VOL. 4, NUMBER 3
EASY STEPS
TO SAVE MONEY
Energy efficiency does not mean "freezing in the dark" - as President
Reagan once claimed. Energy efficiency is about getting the same, or better,
services from less energy. It can be accomplished by simple, cost-effective
measures that require little change in lifestyle.Unfortunately, many schools do not utilize even low-cost, low-risk efficiency measures. A 1994 study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy and completed by the Portland Energy Conservation, Inc., Designing the Smart Schools Program, identified several reasons why schools overlook efficiency opportunities: schools do not recognize their role as property managers; short tenures of officials hinder long-term program support; state policies often do not encourage school conservation; schools do not know how to find start-up funds; schools lack information on energy efficiency; educational and facilities programs do not coordinate their efforts; and districts do not believe they can save money through the avoided cost of energy.
This section offers methods to overcome these barriers and develop and implement successful energy management programs. We present three energy-cutting strategies:quick fixes to save energy with minor behaviorial and equipment modifications; retrofits to improve performance with lighting and building envelope modernization; and system conversions to maximize savings with improved heating and cooling system controls.
Schools that follow these steps can expect to save money as well as improve the health and well-being of students and staff.
Typical Energy Usage Within Schools
WHERE DO
Once school administrators decides to reduce energy consumption
in their schools, there are well-documented strategies for making its
conservation program a success. The first step a school, or district, should
take is to document its current energy use. By evaluating patterns of energy
consumption, schools can more easily determine where there is waste and
identify the best opportunities for savings.
I START?
This information will also help district administrators become aware of energy's impact on operations and the value of prioritizing energy management. For example, the California Energy Commission (CEC) compared energy data in the early 1990s with other school budget items and discovered schools in the state spend more per student on energy than on books and other instructional materials. Many district administrators were alarmed at this information and started to take energy management seriously.
The second step is to initiate an energy management program. Begin by working with staff and students to modify their behavior toward energy and equipment use. The CEC has developed a series of checklists that detail quick, low-cost energy conservation strategies based on three basic principles:
- Turn it off;
- Turn it down; and
- Keep it clean or tuned.
Following are some of the "quick fixes" CEC recommends in its publication Maintaining in the 90's: Energy Management for Maintenance and Custodial Staff.
SCHEDULING ACTIVITIES
LIGHTING
HEATING, VENTILATION AND AIR-CONDITIONING (HVAC)
DOORS, WINDOWS AND EXTERIOR WALLS
MINOR ADJUSTMENTS
by Craig Nyman, Renewable Energy Consultant
CAN HAVE
MAJOR IMPACT
Energy produced from school furnaces rises up through the building and
eventually exits to the outside. Common problems include: thermal bypasses,
such as vents, poorly insulated plumbing, electrical and HVAC shafts, or
service hatches, which allow this heat to escape at a greatly accelerated
rate.
Illustrating this is a pipe chase (enclosed shaft) within the building interior. This chase might carry piping from the basement to the attic crawl space. The walls enclosing the pipes are generally sealed when the building is constructed. However, heat will pass through these walls (by conduction) and exit the school quickly. Trained energy technicians can pinpoint these and other bypass locations. Adding insulation to this chase will eliminate the bypass at this site, often at a very low cost. Other bypasses are more inconspicuous. A solid-looking partition, wall or ceiling could contain many problem areas.
Studies on thermal bypasses have discovered that more than 50 percent of the heat loss from a building occurs at a few small bypass sites. Consequently, remedial action can have a big impact on a utility bill.
For More Information: Craig Nyman, Renewable Energy Consultant, 1343 Constitution Ave., NE, Washington, DC 20002; (202) 547-4171.
CASE STUDY:
PHILADELPHIA SCHOOL DISTRICT'S
SAVE ENERGY CAMPAIGN
As reported in the Winter 1993 issue of Energy Ideas, the Philadelphia School District found itself in an all-too-common predicament in 1983: rising expenses and a shrinking budget were threatening the District's ability to provide quality education. In response, it sought ways to reduce costs without cutting staff or supplies. When it determined it could achieve significant savings by reducing energy use, the District launched the Save Energy Campaign.
First, administrators, teachers, maintenance and engineering staff, the Chamber of Commerce, and local utility companies formed a committee to develop an energy conservation program. Next, the school board passed an energy policy which establishes operational guidelines for all facilities in the District. (See the Policy on next page). Finally, the program was officially inducted at the opening convocation for the 1983-1984 school year. Each of the 260 school principals received an individually signed letter from the Superintendent outlining a three-year energy consumption history and pledging that each school would receive money back if it could achieve a minimum 4 percent savings in its energy use.
MONEY TALKS
Initially, due to a lack of capital, energy savings were achieved by encouraging behavioral and maintenance modifications such as turning off lights in empty classrooms; shutting down boilers prior to 3:00 pm, sometimes as early as 12:00 pm, depending on the weather and the individual school building envelope security (using the building's internal heat gain to provide adequate warmth for the end of each day); scheduling events in appropriately sized rooms; and promptly repairing broken windows and leaky faucets. Through these simple measures, the District trimmed its energy use by 10.9 percent in the first year, saving an impressive $3.3 million.
To capitalize on these initial savings and allow the program to persist and expand, Philadelphia developed an innovative incentive program. Previously, students and staff had little motivation to save energy because the District headquarters received all utility bills, and individuals were not aware of their share of energy use. Philadelphia thus cultivated an incentive structure rewarding each school, as well as its individual participants, for successfully cutting energy consumption. In the first year, 40 percent of the energy savings achieved by each school was returned to that school. The incentive money was used by schools to purchase such items as VCR's, film projectors, power tools, snow blowers, caps and gowns and computer software and hardware.
After distributing the first year's incentive checks at a public awards ceremony - including one for $80,000 - participation in the program rose dramatically (to 25 percent in the second year). The incentive system has been modified so that a school now gets either 20 or 40 percent of its energy savings, the latter if it has been the best energy-saving year in the past three years.
Jack Meyer, the Director of Financial Planning and Analysis, who has been (and continues to be) a vocal champion of the campaign, played an important role in increasing school participation in the program. Studies of energy management programs have demonstrated the vital need for at least one individual who will promote the program and motivate all others to participate.
The conservation initiatives have resulted in dramatic savings on utility bills. Philadelphia has plowed part of this revenue back into further efficiency measures such as simple capital improvements like lighting upgrades, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) upgrades (such as pipe and tank insulation, energy management controls and steam traps) and a training program for the District's engineers.
Philadelphia, like many other districts across the nation, is required to procure services through a competitive-bidding process. However, it now carefully structures its bid requests to ensure that high quality, energy-efficient technologies, rather than the lowest cost products, are procured. In addition, after the District completed the retrofits it could do on its own, it entered into energy savings contracts with private companies to undertake more complex equipment conversions.
After the first year of the program, the District hired a full-time Energy Conservation Program Coordinator. The Coordinator, who is still funded from program savings, is responsible for conducting energy audits and site visits, tracking energy use, distributing monthly energy reports to each school, pressing for repairs, identifying opportunities for fuel switching and facility retrofits, and coordinating promotional activities, such as a district-wide art contest. The Coordinator also distributes a campaign newsletter which has "served to share ideas between schools and to stimulate further energy savings activities," according to a report on the District prepared by the now-defunct Results Center.
Other facets of the program contributing to its success include a Student Energy Patrol and an energy-efficiency curricula.
Philadelphia is now considering further energy-efficiency measures, including the use of additional shared-savings contracts, advanced window glazings and photovoltaic (solar) panels.
For More Information: Malcolm Sender, Energy Conservation Program Coordinator, Office of Financial Planning and Analysis, School District of Philadelphia, 21st and Ben Franklin Pkwy., Rm. 910, Philadelphia, PA 19103; (215) 299-7093; Fax: (215) 299-7290.
TEN KEY ELEMENTS
1. Organize energy data and conduct an energy audit.
TO A SUCCESSFUL
ENERGY PROGRAM
2. Build school board and top level administrative support.
3. Develop a policy for long-term energy management.
4. Appoint an energy manager.
5. Cultivate support from maintenance and operations staff.
6. Motivate participants with incentives and recognition.
7. Integrate energy education with energy management.
8. Track individual school energy use and provide monthly reports.
9. Support the committed and innovative individuals at all levels.
10. Set yearly program goals and energy saving objectives.
Source: California Energy Commission, Bright Ideas, 1992.
ENERGY POLICY
At the onset of the Save Energy Campaign in 1983, an Energy Policy for the School District
was established. It is designed to save scarce resources without infringement
upon the educational mission of the School District. All operations of School
District facilities shall be governed by these specifics:
FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT
OF PHILADELPHIA
A. LIGHTING
1. All lights will be turned off in any area which will be unoccupied for a period in excess of fifteen (15) minutes except for corridors, stairwells, and at exits as required by code.
2. The following standard lighting levels shall be maintained:
a. Classrooms and officess: 50 footcandles
b. Corridors: 20 footcandles
c. Storage: 10 footcandles
3. Under no circumstances will decorative lighting be permitted.
B. TEMPERATURE CONTROL
1. Temperatures, from October 15th through May 15th, will be maintained at 68deg.F in classrooms and offices; and in those facilities that are air-conditioned, 80deg.F will be maintained between May 15th and October 15th. Special consideration will be given to certain preschool and special education classrooms where possible. Warehouse and garage facilities will be maintained at 55deg.F during the heating season.
2. Personnel will not obstruct ventilation ducts or return grills with books, charts, furniture or plants.
3. All windows and doors must be kept closed during the heating season or when air-conditioning units are in operation. 4. Entrances and exits to all buildings shall be limited where possible in their use to minimize heat loss.
5. Broken windows, doors, etc. shall be reported to the building engineer in a timely manner.
6. Unauthorized personnel or students found tampering with temperature regulating devices such as thermostats or valves will be subject to disciplinary action.
7. Portable space heaters of any kind are banned from use within School District facilities as a matter of safety except where provided by Mainenance and Operation.
8. Employees and students are encouraged to wear sweaters, sweatshirts or similar clothing when it is apparent that the heating plant is not uniformly maintaining the desired temperature throughout all sections of a school facility.
C. SCHEDULING
1. Small group activities will not be scheduled in large areas such as auditoriums and gymnasiums. Use of such areas will be coordinated with the custodial staff to enable reduced lighting and heating during periods of non-use.
2. At the end of the school or office day, all windows shall be closed, the blinds or shades drawn to approximately 3/4 the distance from the top of the window to the window sill and the lights turned off. Cleaning staff will turn lights on only for the period when a specific area is being cleaned.
D. OTHER
1. Hot water for washing and showers will be maintained at 105deg.F. Food services operations requiring higher temperature levels by code shall use a booster.
2. Refrigerators and/or similar appliances shall be limited in their use to certain designated areas as determined by the principal or similar facility authority.