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West Geauga saves 33 percent on energy costs
(by Sue Hoffman - February 17, 2010)
West Geauga saves 33 percent on energy costs
By SUE HOFFMAN
In the 15 months since entering a strategic alliance with Energy Education, a national energy conservation company, the West Geauga School District has achieved a 33 percent cost savings in energy, company officials said.
On March 8, Energy Education will present the West Geauga School Board with its Energy Pacesetter Award. The award is for organizations that are setting the pace in energy savings for others. It is designated for programs achieving above-average savings, recognizing the support and cooperation of administration, faculty and staff.
Energy Education said the district's total cost savings over the 15 months was $271,000.
The net savings for the 15-month period is approximately $150,000, after the district paid approximately $125,000 for Energy Education's services, according to School Superintendent Anthony Podojil. The district's contract with Energy Education includes program costs of approximately $100,000 for the first year, slightly less in the next four years with a larger drop in costs over the last five years of the agreement, he said.
"The good news is that the savings are over the cost" of the program, Dr. Podojil said. "We're pleased where we're at and hoping to do more. You want to institute changes so they will be here for the duration. We are all hearing a lot about sustainability and our hope is that this type of program will bring that to the district."
Dr. Podojil said district officials are currently in the process of verifying cost savings and will present their award and findings to the school board March 8.
Dr. Podojil said the district already had upgraded the heating, ventilating and air-conditioning control system when it started working with Energy Education in October 2008. "Now we're better managing those controls," he said. Bringing down the heat to a lower level when people are not in the building and "educating people about the use of electricity" are among the projects now in place, he said.
"Our energy program is a people-based program," said Wes Rogge, social studies teacher and energy manager for the district. "We do not purchase new equipment or make any capital improvements for our program. Each student and employee in our district is asked to be an energy conserver. By changing our behavior and patterns of consumption, we can achieve significant savings in the energy budget.
"This simply means turning things off when they are not being used. This includes things as small as a closet light or a computer monitor to larger items like a rooftop HVAC unit. We ensure that our equipment is running as efficiently as possible and is off during unoccupied times. We have trimmed our heating and cooling schedules to match occupancy times and make sure that each building sets back each night so that heating and air conditioning are not running when the building is unoccupied."
With training received from Energy Education, Mr. Rogge tracks consumption -- including electricity, water, sewer, natural gas and fuel oil -- using energy-accounting software. He compares current energy use to a baseline period and calculates the amount of energy that would have been used had conservation and management practices not been implemented. By tracking consumption and analyzing energy use, he quickly can identify and correct areas that need immediate attention.
The program is successful because of an "almost immediate compliance from our custodians and teachers," Mr. Rogge said. "The custodians are the ones that have had to make the most adjustments in their routines and are the backbone of the program. Our program is also very successful because we work as a team towards achieving a common goal."
"Reaching this level of savings at this stage of the program is a significant achievement," said William S. Spears, CEO and founder of Energy Education. He said the district "has done an excellent job of implementing Energy Education's people-oriented approach to energy conservation and maintaining productive efforts at all levels of the organization."
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