The South Colonie Central School District is making strides in energy efficiency and was one of about 200 organizations nationwide to be named an Energy Star Leader by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the end of February.
“We have worked to a point where we have gotten the energy leaders award where we improved portfolio-wide — all of our buildings — our usage by over 20 percent,” said Jim Brown, energy educator for the district.
Energy Star Leaders must meet one of two energy efficiency improvement milestones by either recording a 10 percent improvement in energy performance across their portfolio or being a “top performer,” meaning the buildings in the organization’s portfolio perform on average in the top 25 percent of similar buildings nationwide.
In the 11 years the district has been involved with the EPA program, which provides an Energy Star Portfolio Manager tool to help track energy performance, it has saved more than $3.5 million in utilities.
“People talk about utility prices constantly going up, so it’s even more impressive considering we’ve added on to many of our buildings since we began,” said Brown.
There was no “big ticket item” that pushed the school district over the edge in energy conservation. It was a combination of little things, like turning off lights, fans or computers not in use, and it was Brown’s job to pinpoint where those actions were needed.
“By having the position in place to constantly look for where are ways we can conserve energy, you’re keeping that in check,” said Brown. “I go and walk through all the buildings, just looking and listening and seeing and hearing what’s running. … Does this need to run or can it be shut down, whether that be computers, printers, lights, fans, any electrical consuming device?”
Brown said shutting down a few vacant computer stations or flipping a few light switches won’t turn a building upside down, which is what some people may think.
“I think a common misconception about energy conservation is they’ll freeze or be in the dark but our program always has been that you use what you need, but on the flip side whenever you see the opportunity to turn something off and save, please do that as well,” said Brown. “Save millions of dollars, pennies at a time.”
Turning off the district’s 1,500 computers at night saves the district about $100,000 a year. Building lights are also shut off at night, except for a few needed for security cameras.
The district saves more than $18,000 a year with smart vending machines. There’s a device on the vending machines that monitors the temperature outside and can detect a body standing in front of it.
“If (nobody) is there it can shut off the compressor on it,” said Brown. “Considering we have 40 vending machines in the district, that alone was a significant savings.”
The lighting in every gym was replaced with more energy efficient bulbs, a practice now commonly used but more cutting edge when the district implemented it in 2003.
“We were one of the first districts in the area to put that in the gyms,” said Brown.
Buying Energy Star replacement products for computers or copiers is a simple move that can save money in the long run.
“They’re not bought to replace things until it’s time to replace them, so we’re not adding a new expense,” said Brown.
Tracking the district’s energy conservancy has been easier with the EPA energy management program, but it also lets the district gauge how it’s doing against other school districts, businesses and similar participants.
“You can … compare to other similar buildings throughout the U.S. to see how you fare and through that benchmarking can see, ‘Am I doing better or worse? How can I look to improve?’” said Brown. “Right now, our buildings through the Energy Star certification are among the top 25 percent in the country in terms of least energy usage.”
Actions like those taken in South Colonie are far-reaching and are why the EPA runs the Energy Star program.
“Making our buildings more energy efficient is one of the most effective ways for American businesses, government and other organizations to save money and reduce the pollution going into the air we breathe,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson in a statement.
Brown said he encourages other school districts and businesses to invest in an energy educator like himself.
“One of the things I do is speak to other schools and businesses about the importance of having an energy management position. Without that position, there’s not a set of eyes specifically looking at ‘How can we save money?’” s
