Energy Management

March 2019 – ENERGY STAR K12 Efficiency Webinar Recording: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Amnk5l30aehStgtX2s3nboqYyQlD1SRs/view?usp=sharing

Top Ten List

Ten Reasons Why Teaching About Energy is Essential from U.S. DOE’s EnergySmart Schools provides good reasoning for implementing energy into curriculum.

Energy Policy Examples

The following provide ideas and strategies you can consider when developing your policy. As with most policies, each district has unique situations, with different needs, and any policy should be tailored to address the individual district’s circumstances.

The following are provided by Larry Schoff from Energy Efficient Solutions:

Dude Solutions Energy Management Software

This energy management suite is a comprehensive utility management module. Dude Solutions, a premier provider of school maintenance management programs, offers several modules designed to increase efficiencies in school facilities management. All of Dude Solutions’s products are endorsed by MSBO, resulting in a discount for Michigan school districts.

Energy Star/EPA Website

Energy Star offers many tools to assist in energy management. One of these tools is a document entitled Guidelines for Energy Management.

Energy Star’s Target Finder is designed to assist when planning new buildings. It is a tool that helps manage energy during the design of a new building. With Target Finder you can set an aggressive energy performance target for a building design and compare your estimated energy consumption to the established target. Target Finder provides an energy performance target rating for whole-building energy use.

Michigan Schools Energy Cooperative (MISEC)

MISEC is a not-for-profit entity designed for schools. All savings and rebates are passed through to its members. A significant component of any energy management program is the purchasing of your energy. There may be opportunities to save money by purchasing energy through a cooperative.

Low Cost/No Cost Energy Fixes

There are multitudes of Energy Conservation Measures (ECM) available to schools and individuals that require little or no investment, yet can have significant impact on reducing energy usage and costs.

Energy Star offers PC Power Management strategies designed to help reduce energy consumption from PC’s.

See the Appliance Wattage List for wattage estimates of various appliances. Small appliance usage in school buildings can increase electric consumption more than people know. Use this chart and the current cost of electricity to calculate the cost of operating these appliances.

Reducing Natural Gas Usage is a document provided by the Federal Energy Management Program.

The O&M Best Practice series provided under the manual section provides valuable information for implementing effective maintenance strategies. Performing proper maintenance on district equipment provides significant opportunities for reducing district energy consumption.

Vending machines are often wasting a significant amount of energy in our schools. This case study discusses a quick payback method to reduce this energy usage.

Resources for Teachers

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) offers kids’ pages with energy information, along with a Classroom Activities Section. A List of Resources is also offered by EIA to provide students, educators, and other information users a list of generally available, free or low-cost energy-related educational materials.

The National Energy Education Development (NEED) Program educates students about energy efficiency and conservation, and provides tools to help educators, energy managers and consumers use energy wisely.

High Performance Buildings

It is important that school districts recognize the need to commit to more efficient buildings when constructing new schools. This section offers several resources for schools and school constructors to learn about high performance buildings and standards.

Energy Star’s Target Finder is designed to assist when planning new buildings. It is an internet-based tool that helps you manage energy during the design of a new building. With Target Finder you can set an aggressive energy performance target for a building design and compare your estimated energy consumption to the established target. Target Finder provides an energy performance target rating for whole-building energy use.

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification standards incorporated into new buildings can result in more efficient buildings over the life of the building through reduced energy consumption, along with lower operational costs. Additionally, the standards are intended to reduce the environmental impact of the building. The U.S. Green Building Council develops the LEED standards.

The Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) has information about high performance schools.

Building Commissioning is a concept that is sometimes hard to convince decision makers to do because it seems redundant when a district is already working with (and paying) and architect and construction manager. Why would a commissioning agent be needed, also? Third party commissioning has been proven beneficial and is a component of LEED and High Performance processes.

Resource Manuals and Forms

A National Best Practices Manual for Building High Performance Schools is also provided by EnergySmart Schools.

School Operations and Maintenance: Best Practices for Controlling Energy Costs is a guidebook for K-12 School System Business Officers and Facilities Managers. This document, published in August 2004, provides excellent guidance on implementing an energy management program.

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