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Schools pursue ways to reduce energy use
(by Sali McSherry - December 30, 2009)
Schools pursue ways to reduce energy use
By SALI McSHERRY
The Chagrin Falls School District is considering ways to conserve energy.
The engineering firm Brewer-Garrett Co., of Middleburg Heights, conducted a preliminary analysis focusing on potential opportunities for energy saving and performance-contracting projects. Once identified, the projects could be bundled into Ohio House Bill 264, according to the preliminary report.
H.B. 264, known as the Ohio School Facilities Commission Energy Conservation Program, allows school districts to make energy efficiency improvements by giving them the ability to borrow funds without having to pass a ballot issue for borrowing money. The program has given Ohio school districts the ability to save millions in utility and operating costs at no additional expense to taxpayers, according to the state.
The goal is to save energy, improve comfort and improve building-system communication and operation, according to firm's report.
The school board is expected to consider in the next couple of months whether to move forward on the project after reviewing specific costs associated with the improvements and projected realized savings.
Some potential energy-conservation measures could include district-wide lighting upgrades, building automation system retro-commissioning, including systematic evaluation and updates of all control strategies, steam-trap repair at Chagrin Falls Intermediate School, unit ventilator retro-commissioning and repair, green education, vending-machine sensors and new hand dryers, according to David Smith, of Brewer-Garrett.
The utility bill for the district for 2008-2009 was $535,364 for natural gas and electricity. That does not include water and sewer expenses.
For classrooms, the latest generation of lighting, which uses electronic ballasts, requires 20 percent less energy, improves lighting levels and eliminates the need for future recycling costs, according to the firm's report.
The district could reduce energy by almost 50 percent in gymnasiums, auditorium and cafeterias with retrofitting its current metal halide lighting with T5-high output linear fluorescents, which offer several other advantages. The lamps offer better color rendering, longer life, instant-on operation, and higher lumen maintenance.
The firm also recommended a thorough evaluation of building controls and sequences on all equipment in all buildings, which have not been updated for many years. Some repairs and maintenance of equipment also are necessary.
"Another very successful strategy for limiting energy use is carbon-dioxide control or demand ventilation. One of the largest uses for energy in a building is heating or cooling ventilation air," according to the analysis.
A comprehensive energy conservation plan is more than heating, ventilation and air-conditioning equipment upgrades and lighting retrofits, according to Brewer-Garrett, it also is about striving to shift the way "the members of the school district think about energy and their role in, and responsibility for, saving energy on campus."
Installing Dyson Airblade hand dryers not only would drastically reduce costs associated with stocking and maintaining paper-towel drying systems, but would provide an energy efficient, environmentally sound alternative for hand drying, according to the report. Reduction in waste, pollution and deforestation alone is enough to justify the change. The Airblade, one of the most energy efficient hand-drying systems, could generate a savings of almost 80 percent over standard hot-air dryers, according to Brewer-Garrett.
Energy efficiency of vending machines could be improved upon as well, according to Brewer-Garrett, by installing a load-managing device on the machines, which uses a passive infrared occupancy sensor to turn off the vending machine when the surrounding area is unoccupied and reactive when the area is occupied.
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