Did You Know?

Region 15 Schools are Working toward Conserving Energy  

     Schools in the United States spend over $8 billion per year on energy costs. Energy expenditures have been on the rise since 2001 and these rapid increases in energy prices make it difficult to anticipate expenditures when determining school budgets for the following year.  

     The most important thing to consider regarding energy conservation in schools is the safety and security of the students. Region 15 is working to implement a fiscal efficiency management plan as a precaution to monitor the current budget against pressures of inflation. Twenty percent of each school’s budget is being set aside to guard against potential increases in oil and electric costs. Additionally, the Region is adopting district wide heating/cooling settings of 70 degrees for winter and 78 degrees for summer. Each school already has temperature set backs in place for nights, weekends and holidays.

      Other items that could be considered for review are:

• Turning off lights in unoccupied rooms could save 8 – 10% of lighting energy
• Use timers to shut off electric items when the building is unoccupied
• Eliminate fulltime operation of vending machines – Energy control devices can save as much as 47 % with a full payback in less than 2 years
• Turning fluorescent lighting off for ˝ hour each day saves enough money in energy over the life of the fluorescent tube to pay for the tube
• Turn off computers when not in use – even if computers are turned off during nights/weekends, at least half the energy they consume could still be wasted due to continuous operation during the school day
• Copiers should be turned off when not in use - low powered/energy saver modes on copiers consume 5-20 watts
• Periodically inspect windows and doors for air leaks

      When working to conserve energy, keep in mind that savings are not immediate, but develop over time. The more energy our schools are able to conserve, the more instructional benefits our children will receive.