Saving Energy at School

Energy usage is the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in California. By taking action to save energy, students, teachers, and school district officials can all be part of the solution to reduce the impacts of climate change. Schools can also reduce annual energy expenses by about 20 percent through implementing these energy efficiency tips.

District Officials

Turn Out the Lights

Lighting is one of the largest users of energy in schools. According to the Alliance to Save Energy, “lighting accounts for nearly 50% of the electric bill in most schools.” By turning out the lights when a classroom is unoccupied, the school can save money. Here's how:

• Install Occupancy Sensors

  Occupancy sensors will automatically turn off the lights when no one is in the room. Install occupancy sensors in classrooms and other commonly used areas to save energy.

• Replace Lighting

  Replace standard incandescent light bulbs with low-watt compact fluorescent bulbs. Change incandescent lights in Exit sign to light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs. Replace all T12 fluorescent lighting with Super T8 fluorescent lighting in classrooms.

Minimize Heating and Cooling Costs

Save on energy costs without sacrificing comfort. It’s expensive to heat and cool school buildings, but indoor temperatures must be comfortable so teachers can concentrate on teaching and kids can concentrate on learning.

• Install Programmable Thermostats

  Programmable thermostats can help to minimize operating hours of the heating and cooling systems in low occupancy areas like the cafeteria.

• Install energy management systems

  Energy management systems include thermostat control and timing for the entire campus.

• Clean Furnace Filters Regularly

  A clean filter maximizes your furnace's efficiency and longevity-- and minimizes your energy bills.

Reduce Energy Demand of Computers, Appliances and Equipment

About 15% of energy use in schools is dedicated to office equipment, refrigeration, computers, and other appliances. A creative way to save money involves reducing the energy demand of computers, appliances and equipment at schools.

• Use Surge Protectors

  Ask teachers and school district staff to plug all equipment into surge protectors and turn them off when not in use.

• Assign an Energy Monitor for the School Office

  Ask the energy monitor to turn off office equipment at night, over the weekend, and during holidays.

• Require Duplexing Printing

  Make duplexing (double-side printing) the default mode for copiers and printers.

• Properly Maintain Appliances

  Ask custodial staff to clean refrigerator coils regularly.

• Purchase Energy Star Equipment

  When purchasing new equipment, consider buying Energy Star computers, monitors, printers, fax machines, copiers and other equipment. Energy Star equipment can save up to 50% on energy costs.

• Install Controllers for Beverage Vending Machines

  Many beverage vending machines keep beverages cold by a compressor running 24 hours a day. A vending machine controller reduces the compressor run time, which could reduce energy used by about 35 percent annually.

Consider Energy Efficiency for New Construction

When planning for new schools, there's an opportunity to design and construct facilities that reduce operating costs and save money over time. Typical costs to build energy efficient or high performance schools are equivalent to standard schools.

• Design New Schools to Exceed Title 24 Energy Code

  By constructing new schools to exceed Title 24 Energy Code by 15 - 30 percent or more, they will use less energy and save money over time. These performance based thresholds are consistent with the Go Solar Initiative and will also put schools on the path towards Zero Net Energy.

• Design and Build New Schools as High Performance Schools

  High performance schools offer enhanced learning environments that are shown to improve student learning and teacher satisfaction. School districts can establish a goal early in the design that new schools will be high performance schools.

Implement a School-Wide Energy Efficiency Program

Assessing energy performance can be useful in targeting cost-effective solutions for energy savings. There are several actions that school district officials can take to get the ball rolling.

• Appoint an Energy Manager

  By appointing an energy manager, school districts identify a lead staff person responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive energy management program. An energy manager is in charge of planning, procurement and utilization of energy resources at a property, facility, or portfolio of properties. Energy managers often recommend policy for energy efficiency and conservation, develop long-range plans, and provide reports on the effectiveness of the energy program.

• Measure and Track Energy Usage

  Energy accounting can be one of the most cost-effective tools school districts can use to cut energy costs. Before getting started, check out the CEC’s publication Energy Accounting: A Key Tool in Managing Energy Costs, which will help you to get organized. Contact your local utility to obtain records of energy consumption data from schools. School districts can use ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager software to track building energy usage over multiple years.

• Develop an Energy Profile

  Once you track energy usage for individual school facilities or the entire school district, this information can be used to develop an energy profile. An energy profile provides the basic information needed to evaluate each school’s potential for energy savings. It can also help to develop a baseline of energy usage and benchmark energy performance compared to similar
  buildings.

• Conduct Building Commissioning for School Facilities

  Commissioning can help to ensure schools are operating as designed. The commissioning process documents the quality of building system performance and facilitates improved building operation without requiring any major renovations. It is one of the most cost-effective ways to improve energy efficiency. The California Commissioning Collaborative offers a variety of
  commissioning tools and information to help get you started.

• Use Portfolio Manager to Benchmark School Facilities

  By benchmarking your school, you can evaluate how much energy it uses compared to other schools of similar size. ENERGY STAR's Portfolio Manager can help you create a benchmark plan and track the performance of your buildings.

• Conduct an Audit of Your School to Identify Areas for Energy Savings

  An energy audit identifies how energy is used in a facility, and then recommends ways to retrofit buildings to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy costs. There are several types of energy audits, which can identify ways to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy costs. Schools can partner with utilities who may offer free on-site energy audits of schools.

• Involve the Whole School

  Get the entire school involved. Energy savings add up when the entire school joins together in conservation efforts. Schools with effective conservation programs have reported reductions of as much as 25% in utility bills.

• Publicize Energy Costs and Savings

  When people know how much it costs to power their school, they can see why it’s worth some extra effort to avoid waste.

• Involve the School District

  See if the district administrators would be willing to return a percentage of the dollars saved from your school’s no-cost energy efficiency changes.

Teachers

Turn Out the Lights

Lighting is one of the largest users of energy in schools. According to the Alliance to Save Energy, “lighting accounts for nearly 50% of the electric bill in most schools.” By turning out the lights when a classroom is unoccupied, the school can save money.

• Pick an Energy Monitor or Form a Student Energy Patrol

  Ask your students to help make sure lights and computers are turned off before recess, lunch, and after school.

• Create a “Save Energy” Sign

  By hanging a “Save Energy” sign near your classroom light switches, it will remind students to turn off the lights when they are not in use.

• Turn Off Unneeded Lights

  Light fixtures near windows, especially in unused corners or along banks of windows, may not be necessary. Have students conduct an experiment in classrooms by turning off selected banks of lights and surveying comfort at different lighting levels.

• Support Lighting Retrofits

  Encourage your school administrators to retrofit lighting to save energy. Have students calculate the energy savings achieved by replacing lighting.

Minimize Heating and Cooling Costs

Save on energy costs without sacrificing comfort. It’s expensive to heat and cool school buildings, but indoor temperatures must be comfortable so teachers can concentrate on teaching and kids can concentrate on learning.

• Change the Settings

  Change the thermostat settings in rooms to 78 during warmer months and 68 during cooler months. Doing so will lower the heating and air conditioning use. Using fans can make people feel degrees cooler, at much less cost than air conditioning.

• Don’t Block the Airflow Around Vents

  Make sure books or furniture do not block the vents in your classroom. Keep bookcases and other bulky items away from the heating and cooling units so they don’t block and/or absorb the warm (or cool) air that should be coming into the room.

• Close the Doors and Windows

  Leaving doors wide open to a room or building may make it more inviting to come in, but it wastes energy. Don't prop doors open but allow them to close after people walk through the doorway. Encourage everyone to keep doors and windows closed when heating or air conditioning is running.

• Stop Air Leaks

  Encourage students to be innovative. Have students determine areas of energy loss by using “draftmeters” made from plastic wrap and pencils to study where drafts are coming in. Have students help replace insulation and stuff energy loss “holes” by making translucent window quilts to hang in classrooms and “insulation snakes” to put at the bottom of doors and windows. Work with facility staff to install permanent weather stripping, caulking, and insulation.

Reduce Energy Demand of Computers, Appliances and Equipment

About 15% of energy use in schools is dedicated to office equipment, refrigeration, computers, and other appliances. A creative way to save money involves reducing the energy demand of computers, appliances and equipment at schools.

• Set Computers and Monitors to "Sleep" Mode

  It is a good idea to set your computer and monitor to “sleep” mode even when inactive for a few minutes. Screen savers don’t save energy—only the sleep mode does.

• Form a Student Energy Patrol

  Ask your students to make sure monitors are off when computers are not in use and to turn computers off at the end of the day.

• Encourage School Administrators to Buy Energy Star

  Have students calculate potential savings from the use of Energy Star equipment and present the results to school administrators. If your school purchases the equipment, make sure the Energy Star features are enabled.

Students

Turn Out the Lights

Lighting is one of the largest users of energy in schools. According to the Alliance to Save Energy, “lighting accounts for nearly 50% of the electric bill in most schools.” By turning out the lights when a classroom is unoccupied, the school can save money.

• Turn Off Lights When Not in Use

• Join a Student Energy Patrol

  Work with your teacher to ensure lights are out when rooms are empty (check classrooms, the cafeteria, the auditorium, etc.).

Reduce Energy Demand of Computers, Appliances and Equipment

About 15% of energy use in schools is dedicated to office equipment, refrigeration, computers, and other appliances. A creative way to save money involves reducing the energy demand of computers, appliances and equipment at schools.

• Turn Off Computer Equipment

  Students should turn off monitors that will not be used for the next class period. All computer equipment should be turned off at the end of the day and on weekends, unless your network technicians specifically instruct otherwise.

If you have already upgraded to LEDs, you might want to consider saving even more money with lighting controls. (Note: fluorescent light bulbs also work with simple lighting controls, like occupancy sensors. But they may require a dimmable fluorescent ballast.)

Teachers have enough to deal with and may forget to turn off the light switch before they leave the room. But leaving lights on in an empty classroom can be a huge waste of money. Or at a college or university, lecture classrooms or study rooms may be empty for hours at a time. Using controls to automate when lights turn on and off can save a lot of money on energy costs.

Lighting control systems can be as simple or as complicated as you would like.
Here are a few basic options:

Dimmers: Dimming light bulbs reduces wattage and output, resulting in energy savings. This can also help set different tones in classrooms.

Sensors: No one wants to light an empty room – so installing occupancy sensors in a conference room that’s rarely used is an easy place to start. This is a great option for classrooms, because the lights can turn off during lunch or recess. Or it could be tedious to turn on parking lot lights every night, so photosensor controls could be a huge advantage. Motion sensors are very useful for security lighting. They turn on when motion is detected, then turn off a short while later.

Timers: School hours are limited, so you maybe you only need lights on for certain hours of the day. Timers may be the best option to consider.

Lighting controls can also give you a lot of flexibility. That’s what the University of Texas at Dallas learned when it upgraded its HIDs to LEDs in its activity center.