Stale and Local
Climate and Energy Program
LOCAL GOVERNMENT CLIMATE AND ENERGY STRATEGY SERIES
Energy Efficiency
Programs in
K-12 Schools
A Guide to Developing and Implementing
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Programs
Energy Efficiency
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
2011
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EPA's Local Government Climate and Energy
Strategy Series
The Local Government Climate and Energy Strategy Series provides a comprehensive, straightforward overview of green-
house gas (GHG) emissions reduction strategies that local governments can employ. Topics include energy efficiency
transportation, community planning and design, solid waste and materials management, and renewable energy. City,
county, territorial, tribal, and regional government staff and elected officials can use these guides to plan, implement, and
evaluate climate and energy projects.
Each guide in the series provides an overview of project benefits, policy mechanisms, investments, key stakeholders, and
other implementation considerations. Examples and case studies highlighting achievable results from programs imple-
mented communities across the United States are incorporated throughout the guides.
While each guide stands on its own, the entire series contains many interrelated strategies that can be combined to create
comprehensive, cost-effective programs that generate multiple benefits. For example, efforts to improve energy efficiency
can be combined with transportation and community planning and design programs to reduce GHG emissions, decrease
the costs of energy and transportation for businesses and residents, improve air quality and public health, and enhance
quality of life.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT CLIMATE AND ENERGY STRATEGY SERIES
All guides in the series are available at www.epa.gov/statelocalclimate/resources/strategy-guides.html
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
1 Energy Efficiency in Local Government Operations
1 Energy Efficiency in K-12 Schools
1 Energy Efficiency in Affordable Housing
1 Energy-Efficient Product Procurement
1 Combined Heat and Power
1 Energy Efficiency in Water and Wastewater Facilities
TRANSPORTATION
1 Transportation Control Measures
COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DESIGN
Smart Growth
Urban Heat Island Reduction
SOLID WASTE AND MATERIALS MANAGEMENT
Resource Conservation and Recovery
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Green Power Procurement
On-Site Renewable Energy Generation
Landfill Gas Energy
Please note: All Web addresses in this document were working as of the time of publication, but links may break over time
as sites are reorganized and content is moved.
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CONTENTS
Executive Summary _v
Developing and Implementing Energy Efficiency Programs ._ v
Energy Efficiency in K-12 Schools _ v
Relationships to Other Guides in the Series vi
1. Overview __1
2. Benefits of Energy Efficiency in K-12 Schools __1
3. Planning and Design Approaches to Energy Efficiency in K-12 Schools _ 4
Improving Energy Efficiency in Existing and New Schools ._ 5
Step 1: Make Commitments _9
Steps 2 and 3: Assess Baseline Energy Performance and Set Goals _ _ 10
Assess Baseline Energy Performance in Existing Schools _ 10
Set Goals For Existing and New School Building Portfolios _ 12
Step 4: Create an Action Plan ._ 12
Using a Staged Approach in Existing School Buildings 13
Using a Staged Approach in New and Renovated School Buildings 15
Steps 5 and 6: Implement the Action Plan and Evaluate Progress _ 16
Establish And Maintain A Tracking System ._ 16
Evaluate Progress ._ 17
Step 7: Recognize Success ._ 17
Energy Efficiency in Green School Buildings_ 18
Benefits of Green Buildings _ 18
Planning and Design Approach for Incorporating Energy Efficiency in Green Buildings _ 20
4. Key Participants 21
5. Foundations for Program Development 24
6. Strategies for Effective Program Implementation 25
Strategies for Developing an Energy Efficiency Program 26
Strategies for Engaging the Community _ 28
7. Investment and Financing Opportunities 29
Investment ._ 29
Financing ._ 31
Financial Vehicles ._ 31
Funding Sources __33
8. Federal, State, and Other Program Resources 34
Federal Programs 34
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State Programs 36
Other Programs ._ 36
9. Case Studies 37
Colorado Springs School District 11—Colorado Springs, Colorado 37
Program Initiation ._ 37
Program Features 37
Program Results _ ._ 38
Gresham-Barlow School District—Multnomah County, Oregon __38
Program Initiation __38
Program Features ._ 39
Program Results 39
10. Additional Examples and Information Resources 40
11. References 45
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Energy Efficiency in
K-12 Schools
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Developing and Implementing
Energy Efficiency Programs
Saving energy through energy efficiency improvements
can cost less than generating, transmitting, and distrib-
uting energy from power plants, and provides multiple
economic and environmental benefits. As President
Obama said in June 2009, "By bringing more energy
efficient technologies to American homes and busi-
nesses, we wont just significantly reduce our energy
demand—we'll put more money back in the pockets
of hardworking Americans." Energy efficiency also
helps reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emis-
sions, improves energy security and independence, and
creates jobs.
Local governments can promote energy efficiency in
their jurisdictions by developing and implementing
strategies that improve the efficiency of municipal-
facilities and operations and/or encourage energy
efficiency improvements in residential, commercial,
and industrial sectors. The energy efficiency guides
in this series describe the process of developing and
implementing strategies, using real-world examples,
for improving energy efficiency in local government
operations (see the guides on local government opera-
tions, energy-efficient product procurement, combined
heat and power, and water and wastewater facilities), as
well as in the community (see the guide on affordable
housing).
Energy Efficiency in K-12
Schools
This guide describes how local governments can work
with school districts to improve energy efficiency in
existing, renovated, and new K-12 schools; reduce
energy costs; and create a range of environmental,
economic, and educational benefits. It is designed to
be used by school district energy program managers,
school districts and school boards, local government
agencies, and mayors and city councils.
RELATED GUIDES IN THIS SERIES
1 Urban Planning and Design: Smart Growth
Smart growth involves encouraging development that
serves the economy, the community, and the environ-
ment. Smart growth principles favor a number of trans-
portation and planning strategies—such as developing
neighborhood schools and promoting bicycling and
walking—that can reduce the costs and environmental
impacts of getting children to and from school.
1 Transportation: Transportation Control Measures
Transportation control measures are strategies that
reduce vehicle miles traveled and improve roadway oper-
ations to reduce air pollution, GHG emissions, and fuel
use from transportation. Because many of these measures
encourage public transportation, carpooling, bicycling,
and walking, they can also be used to help decrease the
impacts of getting to and from school.
1 Energy Efficiency: Energy-Efficient Product
Procurement
Many local governments are saving energy by requir-
ing that the energy-using products they purchase meet
energy efficiency criteria. Schools can follow this same
strategy to complement other efforts to improve energy
efficiency in their buildings and other facilities.
1 Solid Waste and Materials Management: Resource
Conservation and Recovery
Like any other institution, school consume large quanti-
ties of materials and generate significant waste (including
food waste) every day. Through activities such as source
reduction, green purchasing, recycling, and composting,
schools can further reduce their costs and environmental
impacts, complementing efforts to improve energy
efficiency.
Readers of the guide should come away with an under-
standing of options to improve energy efficiency in
schools, a clear idea of the steps and considerations
involved in developing and implementing them, and
an awareness of expected investment and funding
opportunities.
Energy Efficiency in K-12 Schools | Local Government Climate and Energy Strategy Series
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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The guide describes the benefits of energy efficiency
in K-12 schools (section 2); a step-by-step approach
to improving energy efficiency in new and existing
schools (section 3); key participants and their roles
(section 4); the policy mechanisms that local govern-
ments have used to support energy efficiency programs
in schools (section 5); implementation strategies for
effective programs (section 6); investment and financ-
ing opportunities (section 7); federal, state, and other
programs that may be able to help local governments
with information or financial and technical assistance
(section 8), and finally two case studies of local govern-
ments that have successfully improved energy efficien-
cy in K-12 schools (section 9). Additional examples of
successful implementation are provided throughout
the guide.
Relationships to Other Guides
in the Series
Local governments can use other guides in this series
to develop robust climate and energy programs that
incorporate complementary strategies. For example,
local governments can combine efforts to improve
energy efficiency in K-12 schools with smart growth
initiatives, transportation control measures, efficient
fleets programs for school buses, energy-efficient
product procurement, and resource conservation
and recovery programs to help schools achieve addi-
tional economic, environmental, and social benefits
associated with reduced transportation emissions,
increased recycling and composting of waste, and
source reduction.
See the box on page v for more information about these
complementary strategies. Additional connections to
related strategies are highlighted in the guide.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Energy Efficiency in K-12 Schools | Local Government Climate and Energy Strategy Series
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1. OVERVIEW
Energy costs are second only to personnel costs as
the leading draw on K-12 school district operating
budgets, totaling approximately $8 billion annually
nationwide (U.S. EPA, 2008; U.S. DOE, Undated).
An estimated $2 billion of that total can be saved
by improving energy efficiency in K-12 schools, an
amount equivalent to the cost of nearly 40 million
new textbooks (U.S. EPA, 2004b; U.S. DOE, 2006).
As a result, many school districts are taking steps to
improve the energy efficiency of their school buildings.
Along with achieving significant energy cost savings,
investing in energy efficiency can produce environ-
mental, economic, and educational benefits.
K-12 SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION
A school is generally administered either locally (by a
single municipal or county government with individual
supervision) or regionally (by multiple municipalities that
pool resources, often in the form of a school district or
local education agency). This guide uses the term "school
district" for school administrative units governed both
locally and regionally.
Many local governments work closely with K-12
school district officials, who are often appointed by
the local government executive or representative body.
Because of this unique relationship, local governments
are often well positioned to work through school
districts to improve energy efficiency in K-12 school
buildings. This guide provides information on how
school districts, as extensions of local government,
have planned and implemented programs to improve
energy efficiency in existing school buildings and to
incorporate energy efficiency in new school designs.
It also includes information on the benefits of energy
efficiency in K-12 school buildings, expected invest-
ment and funding opportunities, and case studies.
Additional examples and information resources are
provided in Section 10, Additional Examples and Infor-
mation Resources.
2. BENEFITS OF ENERGY
EFFICIENCY IN K-12
SCHOOLS
Improving energy efficiency in K-12 school buildings
can produce substantial energy, environmental, and
economic benefits, including:
1 Reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other
environmental impacts. Improving energy efficiency
in school buildings can help reduce GHG emissions
and criteria air pollutants by decreasing consumption
of fossil fuels. Fossil fuel combustion for electricity
generation accounts for 40 percent of the nations
carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, a principle GHG, and
67 percent and 23 percent of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and
nitrogen oxide (NO ) emissions, respectively, which
can lead to smog, acid rain, and trace amounts of
airborne particulate matter that can cause respiratory
problems for many people (U.S. EPA, 20081; U.S. EPA,
2008m).1
In 2005, the Council Rock School District in
Newtown, Pennsylvania, established an
energy management program and began
recommissioning newer buildings and requiring
ENERGY STAR labeled products, when possible,
for new purchases. The district was recognized
twice by EPA in 2007 as an ENERGY STAR Leader
for improving its energy performance by 20
percent and then 30 percent, and was recognized
again in 2009 for becoming the first ENERGY
STAR school district partner to improve its perfor-
mance by 40 percent across its entire portfolio.
Council Rock also became a Top Performer in
2009 for achieving a portfolio-wide energy perfor-
mance score of 84. It was named an ENERGY
STAR Partner of the Year in 2008 and 2009. To
date, the district's efforts have reduced CO2 emis-
sions by more than 7,000 metric tons, the equiva-
lent of the annual emissions from more than 1,300
vehicles (U.S. EPA, 2009).
Reducing energy consumption can also contribute to
other school district environmental objectives, such
as resource conservation. For example, purchasing an
ENERGY STAR labeled energy-efficient dishwasher
1 According to EPA, energy use in commercial and industrial facilities
accounts for nearly 50% of all U.S. GHG emissions (U.S. EPA, 2008f).
Energy Efficiency in K-12 Schools | Local Government Climate and Energy Strategy Series
1. OVERVIEW-2. BENEFITS
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in an office kitchen to reduce energy costs can also
help reduce water utility bills and decrease the amount
of used water that enters the wastewater system (U.S.
EPA, 2008v).
FIGURE 1 BREAKDOWN OF
ENERGY USE IN K-12 SCHOOLS
Miscellaneous
Ventilation
Space Cooling
Office Equipment
Cooking
Source: U.S. DOE, 2006b.
1 Reduce energy costs. Schools spend approximately $75
per student on gas bills and $130 per student on elec-
tricity each year (U.S. EPA, 2008). Figure 1 provides a
breakdown of energy consumption in K-12 schools by
end use.2 By implementing energy efficiency measures,
many K-12 schools have been able to reduce energy
costs by as much as 30 percent in existing facilities
(U.S. EPA, 2004b). According to EPA, modification of
a pre-existing building for energy efficiency (a process
known as retrocommissioning; see page 13 for more
information), can save a typical 100,000-square-foot
school building between $10,000 and $16,000 annually,
and simple behavioral and operational measures alone
can reduce energy costs by up to 25 percent (U.S. EPA,
2008). Schools that have earned the ENERGY STAR
label for superior energy performance cost $0.40 per
square foot less to operate than conventional schools
(U.S. EPA, 2008b).
2 The average school has an energy intensity of approximately 68,700 Btuper
square foot (U.S. EPA, 2008).
Mahtomedi Public Schools ISD 832 educates
3,100 K-12 students in four schools in the
northeastern Twin Cities metropolitan area.
The district partnered with the Schools for Energy
Efficiency3 program and used ENERGY STAR
support and resources to develop low- and no-cost
strategies for improving energy performance. As a
result, Mahtomedi ISD 832 has assessed the energy
performance of all its schools and made improve-
ments, such as lighting retrofits, that have helped
realize avoided costs of more than $268,000. The
school district became an ENERGY STAR Partner
in 2005 and was recognized as an ENERGY STAR
Leader the following year, with 10 percent
improvement in energy use compared with its
2003-2004 baseline. The district built upon that
success in 2007 with 20 percent improvement and
was named a Top Performer in 2008 for achieving
an average energy performance score of 82 for its
schools (U.S. EPA, 2009h). (For more information
on ENERGY STAR awards and recognition for
energy performance improvements, see page 17.)
Increase economic benefits through job creation and
market development. Investing in energy efficiency
can stimulate the local economy and encourage devel-
opment of energy efficiency service markets. According
to the Department of Energy (DOE), approximately
60 percent of energy efficiency investments goes to
labor costs, and half of all energy-efficient equipment
is purchased from local suppliers (U.S. DOE, 2004).
Across the nation, energy efficiency technologies and
services are estimated to have created more than 8
million jobs in 2006 (ASES, 2008).
Demonstrate leadership. Investing in energy effi-
ciency helps foster market demand for energy-efficient
technologies from local residents and businesses,
and demonstrates responsible stewardship of public
resources since reduced energy costs translate into
saved tax dollars. In addition, improving energy
efficiency can provide an opportunity to introduce
children to important energy and environmental issues
(U.S. DOE, 2007).
3 Schools for Energy Efficiency (SEE) is an ENERGY STAR partner that
serves as a comprehensive program for K-12 schools to save energy and money
by changing behavior throughout school districts. SEE provides a systemized
plan, educational awareness materials, training, and utility tracking for imme-
diate and sustainable savings.
2. BENEFITS
Energy Efficiency in K-12 Schools | Local Government Climate and Energy Strategy Series
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BETTER SCHOOL SITING CAN REDUCE ENERGY USE
AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
Both the location and design of a school play a major
role in determining what benefits it provides to the
community and what impact it has on the environment.
If a community is interested in creating energy-efficient
school facilities, it is important to consider both how the
location will affect the way students, faculty, and staff
get to and from the building and the building techniques
used in construction and renovation. A school that is safe
and easy for people to reach on foot or by bicycle helps
reduce the energy used in automobiles and buses, and
also lowers air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions
and protects children's health. Locating schools in the
neighborhoods they serve and reusing infrastructure and
renovating buildings to create schools conserves energy
and resources, preserves the natural environment, and
avoids increases in contaminated water runoff from new
impervious paved surfaces.
Local government practices and state policies affect
school siting decisions. Minimum acreage requirements,
facility reimbursement policies that favor new schools
over renovated schools, and the trend toward larger
schools (facilities and sites), all lead to schools being
built on the fringe of the communities they serve
and can increase transportation-related energy
consumption. Local education agencies can access
resources from organizations such as the Collaborative
for High Performance Schools and the US Green
Building Council for information on how to integrate
location considerations into school facility planning
and construction to counter this trend and how other
green building techniques can complement location
considerations and further lessen the environmental
impact of schools. In addition, EPA is in the process of
developing voluntary school siting guidelines for use
by states and localities. These guidelines include both
location and green building considerations and should
be available in 2010. For more information on the
voluntary school siting guidelines, see http://www.epa.
gov/schools/siting.html.
Sources: Kats, 2006; U.S. EPA, 2003d; U.S. EPA, 2009k.
In Montgomery County, Maryland, 10 high
schools and middle schools participated in a
pilot for the school district's School Eco-
Response Team program, which helped the
schools implement energy efficiency measures. In
return for being allowed to retain a portion of the
energy cost savings, the schools agreed to serve as
mentors to students in district elementary schools
to encourage broader understanding of energy and
environmental issues (U.S. DOE, 2004).
1 Improve student performance. Energy-efficient
school building designs often use natural daylight to
reduce the energy needed to light a building. Natural
light has also been proven to have a positive effect
on student performance. According to a study for
the California Board for Energy Efficiency, students
exposed to natural daylight in classrooms progress as
much as 20 percent faster on math tests and as much
as 26 percent faster on reading tests than students with
no daylight exposure (HMG, 1999). Another study
concluded that students in schools that offer systematic
environmental education programs have higher test
scores than students in schools with no such programs
(U.S. EPA, 2008). Improving energy efficiency in K-12
school buildings can also have the indirect benefit of
improving acoustic comfort (i.e., enabling effective
communication by minimizing audible disturbance
from outside and inside), which can also lead to
improved student performance (U.S. EPA, 2008).
1 Improve indoor air quality. Some energy efficiency
upgrades can improve occupant health by enhancing
indoor air quality. Installing energy recovery ventila-
tion equipment, for example, can reduce infiltration
of air contaminants from outdoors while significantly
reducing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
(HVAC) energy loads (U.S. EPA, 2003). One study on
building performance found the average reduction in
illness as a result of improved air quality in buildings is
about 40 percent (Carnegie Mellon, 2005).
In Colorado Springs, Colorado, the local school
1 ffl f District has developed an integrated energy effi-
I—I ciency and indoor air quality management
program that produces more than $900,000 in annu-
al energy cost savings while significantly improving
the air quality in school buildings for students, facul-
ty, and staff. (While the average K-12 school uses
approximately 70,000 Btu per square foot per year,
this district's goal is to consume just 25,000 Btu per
square foot per year, a reduction of more than 64
percent). The program uses energy cost savings from
efficiency upgrades to offset the costs of achieving
superior indoor air quality without transferring the
costs to taxpayers. The energy efficiency and indoor
air quality improvements have been implemented
through an energy performance contract that has
enabled the school district to use energy cost savings
to pay for the upgrades. As a result of the upgrades,
the district has been able to meet its indoor air qual-
ity goal of 700 parts per million (ppm) CO2 or less
during occupied hours (U.S. EPA, 2008h).
Energy Efficiency in K-12 Schools | Local Government Climate and Energy Strategy Series
2. BENEFITS
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INDOOR AIR QUALITY IMPLICATIONS FOR
ABSENTEEISM
According to the American Lung Association, asthma is
the number one cause of school absences attributable
to chronic illness in the United States. Improving energy
efficiency in K-12 schools can reduce the risk of asthma
attacks in students and staff by reducing the potential
for infiltration of untreated air or accumulation of air
quality-impairing contaminants (e.g., mold, dust mites,
cockroaches, and certain chemicals). Increasing building
envelope insulation, for example, can reduce energy
waste while preventing infiltration of untreated outdoor
air. Maintaining HVAC system components (e.g., cleaning
refrigerator coils) can improve indoor air quality by
removing unwanted contaminants. In addition, testing
and calibrating HVAC system components can improve
overall ventilation effectiveness.
1 Increase attendance. An indirect benefit of energy
efficiency measures in school buildings is an increase
in school attendance rates. According to an analysis for
the State of Washington, incorporating green building
measures in school designs improves indoor air quality
and can reduce absenteeism rates by as much as 15
percent (Washington, 2005). Also, since many school
operating budgets are determined by average daily
attendance, even a small reduction in absenteeism can
save money (CHPS, 2006).
1 Enhance educational opportunities. Energy-efficient
school buildings can give students hands-on opportu-
nities to learn about the benefits of smart energy
SAN LEANDRO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT,
CALIFORNIA-EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
In 2006, McKinley Elementary School, located in the San
Leandro Unified School District in California, performed
a lighting system retrofit that reduced lighting energy
consumption by 49%. Inspired by the energy savings,
a group of teachers worked with the California Public
Utilities Commission's School Energy Efficiency Program
to plan an energy efficiency open house and integrate
educational opportunities into the curriculum that would
help students learn about energy through hands-on
experience. Educational materials were provided by
the National Energy Education Development Project, a
nonprofit organization that has created programs in many
States to integrate energy efficiency lessons into everyday
learning.
Source: SEE, 2006.
management. (U.S. DOE, 2006). Several K-12 schools
have used energy efficiency improvements as opportu-
nities to adapt academic curricula to promote aware-
ness of energy and environmental issues. Some school
districts have installed energy data kiosks in K-12
school buildings so students can monitor their school's
energy consumption.
Increase security and safety. Improving energy
efficiency in K-12 school buildings can have posi-
tive effects on school security and student safety. For
example, energy-efficient exterior lighting can enhance
security while reducing energy costs by providing
effective and even light distribution (U.S. EPA, 2008).
Other benefits. Other benefits from improving energy
efficiency in K-12 school buildings include improve-
ments in teacher retention rates, reductions in insur-
ance costs, and reduced legal liability due to improved
indoor environmental quality (Capital E, 2006; CHPS,
2006).
In California, Stockton's guidelines for developing
energy-efficient school buildings in its K-12 school
district cite lower risks of legal action stemming from
inadequate indoor environmental quality as a benefit of
school commissioning (Stockton, 2007).
3. PLANNING AND DESIGN
APPROACHES TO ENERGY
EFFICIENCY IN K-12 SCHOOLS
When planning and designing programs to improve
energy efficiency in existing K-12 school buildings and
incorporate energy efficiency in new school building
designs, it is important for school districts to remain
continually aware of the following aspects of school
building performance that are integrally conducive to
healthy and effective learning:
Indoor air quality. Measures that improve occupant
health and indoor air quality, such as good ventilation,
are especially important in school buildings. According
to a 1999 U.S. Department of Education study, approxi-
mately 26 percent of the nation's school buildings have
inadequate quantities of fresh air (NREL, 2002). Poor
indoor air quality can lead to occupant illness and
potential lawsuits against school districts. Some school
districts rely on retrocommissioning records as proof
they are meeting indoor air quality standards (U.S.
EPA, 2008).
3. PLANNING AND DESIGN
Energy Efficiency in K-12 Schools | Local Government Climate and Energy Strategy Series
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Thermal, visual, and acoustic comfort. Energy effi-
ciency measures that improve the thermal, visual, and
acoustic comfort of a school building can significantly
improve student performance. Several studies have
shown that daylighting in schools, along with other
design strategies, improves students' capacity to learn
in shorter periods of time (CHPS, 2006a, 2006b).
ENERGY EFFICIENCY MEASURES TAILORED TO
ACOUSTICAL NEEDS
When Red Wing High School in Red Wing, Minnesota,
needed to upgrade its HVAC system to improve indoor air
quality, it worked with an architectural firm to ensure that
installing new energy-efficient ductwork and fans would
not compromise its priority of ensuring acoustic quality
in critical spaces, such as the media center; the band,
choir, and orchestra hall; and the theatre. In addition to
preserving acoustic quality, the new HVAC system saves
the school $120,000 annually in energy costs.
Source: Trane, 2007.
1 Security and safety. Energy-efficient design can
improve security and safety in school buildings. For
example, using glass partitions between classrooms and
hallways can increase daylight penetration and surveil-
lance capabilities (NREL, 2002b).
Ensuring that these particular aspects of school build-
ing performance are included in energy efficiency
program plans is a priority for many school districts.
In addition, many energy efficiency projects can
have multiple benefits. For example, energy-efficient
daylighting strategies that reduce energy consumption
can also enhance visual comfort for students, faculty,
and staff, and have positive effects on students' learning
(U.S. EPA, 2008).
The following subsections describe approaches that
school districts can follow when planning and design-
ing projects and programs to improve energy efficiency
in K-12 school buildings. These approaches can help
schools achieve the range of benefits described in
Section 2, Benefits of Energy Efficiency in K-12 Schools.
Specifically, this section addresses:
1 Improving energy efficiency in existing and new school
buildings.
1 Incorporating energy efficiency in new and renovated
green school buildings.
Improving Energy Efficiency in
Existing and New Schools
The most effective way to reduce school district energy
consumption is to engage in a portfolio-wide, system-
atic approach for improving energy efficiency in exist-
ing school facilities and properly design new and reno-
vated school buildings. A portfolio-wide approach not
only results in larger total reductions in school district
energy costs and GHG emissions, but enables school
districts to offset the costs of more substantial energy
efficiency projects in buildings that have higher upfront
costs with the savings from projects in other buildings.
In addition, adopting a portfolio-wide approach can
help local governments and school districts generate
greater momentum for energy efficiency activities,
which can lead to sustained implementation and
continued savings.
A good place for school districts to start is EPA's
ENERGY STAR program, which has developed a
systematic approach for achieving superior energy
management in existing buildings. This approach,
summarized in the ENERGY STAR Guidelines for
Energy Management (U.S. EPA, 2008v) and in Figure 2,
Overview of ENERGY STAR Guidelines for Energy
Management, involves seven steps:
1 Step 1. Make Commitment
1 Step 2. Assess Performance
1 Step 3. Set Goals
1 Step 4. Create Action Plan
1 Step 5. Implement Action Plan
1 Step 6. Evaluate Progress
1 Step 7. Recognize Achievements
This section provides information on key strategies
for each of these steps. While the primary focus of this
section is to describe an overall approach to improving
energy efficiency in a portfolio of existing buildings,
the basic concepts can be applied to planning and
design of energy-efficient new and renovated buildings.
Tools and resources for addressing energy efficiency
in these projects are identified in this section. In addi-
tion, the planning and design approach for improving
energy efficiency in school buildings (described in
this section) is also one of the most important compo-
nents of a successful green school building program
Energy Efficiency in K-12 Schools | Local Government Climate and Energy Strategy Series
3. PLANNING AND DESIGN
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FIGURE 2 OVERVIEW OF ENERGY STAR GUIDELINES FOR ENERGY MANAGEMENT
Make
Commitment
Assess
Performance
& Set Goals
Create Action Plan
Recognize
Achievements
Implement
Action Plan
Evaluate
Progress
The ENERGY STAR Guidelines for Energy Management
presents a seven-step approach to achieving superior
energy management and savings across a portfolio of
buildings.
For detailed descriptions of the above steps, see
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=guidelines.
guidelines_index.
The steps include:
1. Make Commitment
• Establish an Energy Team
• Institute an Energy Policy
2. Assess Performance
• Collect and Manage Data
• Establish Baselines and Benchmarks
• Analyze Data and Conduct Technical Assessments and
Audits
3. Set Goals
• Estimate Potential for Improvement
• Establish Goals
4. Create Action Plan
• Define Technical Measures and Targets For Each
Building
• Determine Roles and Resources
5. Implement Action Plan
• Create a Communication Plan, Raise Awareness, Build
Capacity, and Motivate
• Track and Monitor Progress
6. Evaluate Progress
• Measure Results
• Review Action Plan
7. Recognize Achievements
• Internal Recognition
• External Recognition
(described in the following section, Energy Efficiency
in Green School Buildings).
While this section describes an approach for imple-
menting a comprehensive portfolio-wide energy
efficiency strategy, there are cases where sufficient
resources (e.g., funding and personnel resources) are
not available. In these instances, school districts can
apply the concepts to one or a few schools. Experiences
from such demonstration projects can then be used to
make the case for further energy efficiency improve-
ments, and subsequently can be applied to a broader
portfolio when additional support and/or resources
become available.
Table 1, ENERGY STAR Program Resources, summa-
rizes the many ENERGY STAR tools and resources
available for planning and implementing programs to
improve energy efficiency in existing school buildings
and for incorporating energy efficiency in new school
designs.
3. PLANNING AND DESIGN
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TABLE 1
ENERGY STAR PROGRAM RESOURCES
Title/Description
ENERGY STAR Tools and Guidance for Existing and New Buildings
Web Site
Guidelines for Energy Management. EPA provides the seven-step Guidelines for Energy Management to
assist in developing and implementing energy efficiency action plans.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.
cfm?c = guidelines.guidelines_
index
Guidelines for Energy Management Assessment Matrices. EPA has developed a matrix to help energy
managers determine whether their organizations' practices are consistent with Guidelines for Energy
Management. A second matrix allows managers to compare current energy management practices to the
guidelines at the facility level.
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/
business/guidelines/assessment,
matrix.xls
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/
business/guidelines/Facility_
Energy_Assessment_Matrix.xls
Portfolio Manager. School districts can use EPA's Portfolio Manager tool to benchmark the energy
performance of their schools, establish baselines, prioritize investments opportunities, set reduction
goals, verify results, and earn national recognition for energy efficiency improvements and top
performance. For certain building types, such as K-12 schools. Portfolio Manager can be used to rate
building performance on a scale of 1 to 100 relative to similar buildings nationwide—normalized for
weather, square footage, and other characteristics.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.
cfm?c = evaluate_performance.
bus_portfoliomanager
ENERGY STAR Label. Buildings that achieve a score of 75 or higher using Portfolio Manager, and are
professionally verified to meet current indoor environment standards, are eligible to apply for the
ENERGY STAR label. The label is available for office buildings, school buildings, hospitals, courthouses,
and other facilities.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.
cfm?c = evaluate_performance.
bus_portfoliomanager_intro
Profiles of ENERGY STAR Labeled Buildings and Plants. EPA has compiled profiles of ENERGY STAR
labeled government buildings, accessible at its Web page ENERGY STAR Labeled Buildings and Plants.
http://www.energystar.gov/
index.cfm?fuseaction = labeled_
buildings.showBuildingSearch
Building Upgrade Manual. The ENERGY STAR Building Upgrade Manual describes a five-step
systematic approach to improving energy efficiency in existing buildings, including recommissioning/
commissioning, lighting, supplemental load reductions, fan system upgrades, and heating and cooling
system upgrades. The manual includes an additional chapter on unique challenges and opportunities in
K-12 school buildings.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.
cfm?c = business.bus_upgrade_
manual
Target Finder. EPA's Target Finder lets a user establish an energy performance target for a design project
or major building renovation based on similar building types and desired energy performance. Users can
enter a project's estimated energy consumption and compare it to the target to see whether the project
will achieve its goal.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.
cfm?c = new_bldg_design.bus_
target_finder
"Designed to Earn the Energy Star" Label. Building designs that achieve a score of 75 or higher
using Target Finder are eligible to receive the "Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR" designation. By
benchmarking actual energy use in Portfolio Manager, these buildings can apply for the ENERGY STAR if
they remain in the top quarter of the energy performance scale after 1 year of operation.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.
cfm?c = new_bldg_design.new_
bldg_design_benefits
Target Finder Opportunities Flowchart. A flow chart detailing opportunities to use Target Finder to
assess projected design performance.
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/
business/tools_resources/new_
bldg_design/Design_process_
flow_diagram_101404.pdf
Integrated Energy Design Guidance. EPA provides guidance on planning and designing buildings that
integrate energy efficiency improvements. This guidance includes information on how to use tools such
as Target Finder to design buildings that achieve energy performance goals.
https://www.energystar.gov/index.
cfm?c = new_bldg_design.new_
bldg_design_guidance
Integrated Energy Design Guidance Checklist. A checklist that highlights components in the design
process that can lead to ENERGY STAR labeling.
http://www.energystar.gov/
ia/business/tools_resources/
new_bldg_design/BuildingDesign
CuidanceChecklist_101904.pdf
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3. PLANNING AND DESIGN
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TABLE 1 ENERGY STAR PROGRAM RESOURCES (cont.)
Title/Description
Web Site
ENERGY STAR Financial Calculators
Cash Flow Opportunity Calculator. This tool can be used to determine how much new energy-efficient
equipment can be purchased based on estimated cost savings; determine whether equipment should
be purchased now using financing, or if it is better to wait and use cash from a future year's budget; and
determine whether money is being lost by waiting for lower interest rates.
Financial Value Calculator. This tool presents energy efficiency investment opportunities in terms
of key financial metrics. It can be used to determine how energy efficiency improvements can affect
organizational profit margins and returns on investments.
Building Upgrade Value Calculator. This calculator can be used to estimate the financial benefits of
improving energy efficiency in office buildings.
Savings Calculators. These calculators can be used to estimate the life-cycle and annual costs and
savings of a variety of ENERGY STAR labeled products.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.
cfm?c = assess_value.financial_
tools
http://www.energystar.gov/index.
cfm?c = assess_value.financial_
tools
http://www.energystar.gov/index.
cfm?c = assess_value.financial_
tools
http://www.energystar.gov/index.
cfm?c=bulk_purchasing.bus_
purchasing
ENERGY STAR Resources for K-12 Schools
ENERGY STAR for K-12 Schools. This Web site provides resources for school districts to use as they plan
energy efficiency activities, including energy management guidelines, information on financing options,
and tools and resources to measure and track energy use.
ENERGY STAR Leaders. This Web site provides information on the criteria to become an ENERGY STAR
Leader. Based on Portfolio Manager results, ENERGY STAR Leaders recognition is provided for the
following achievements: portfolio-wide energy efficiency improvements of 10%, 20%, or 30% (or more)
reductions in normalized energy use. Partners with an average score of 75 or better portfolio-wide are
recognized as Top Performers.
ENERGY STAR for Kids. School districts can use energy efficiency projects in school buildings as learning
opportunities for their students. This Web site provides information for kids about energy efficiency.
ENERGY STAR Success Stories. This Web site offers a series of K-12 energy efficiency success stories from
school districts around the country.
Indoor Air Quality in Schools. This Web site offers resources on integrating energy efficiency and indoor
air quality goals in school buildings.
http://www. energystar.gov/
index.cfm?c = k!2_schools.bus_
schoolsk!2
http://www.energystar.gov/index.
cfm?c=leaders.bus_leaders
http://www.energystar.gov/index.
cfm?c = kids.kidsjndex
http://www. energystar.gov/
index.cfm?c = k!2_schools.bus_
schoolsk!2
http://www. energystar.gov/
index.cfm?c = k!2_schools.bus_
schoolsk!2_indoor_airquality
Additional ENERGY STAR Resources and Tools
ENERGY STAR for Government. This Web site provides resources for state and local governments to http://www.energystar.gov/
use as they plan energy efficiency activities, including energy management guidelines, information on index.cfm?c = government. bus_
financing options, and tools and resources to measure and track energy use. government
ENERGY STAR Challenge. Build a Better World 10% at a Time. The program calls on governments,
school buildings, and businesses across the country to identify energy efficiency improvements in their
facilities and improve energy efficiency by 10% or more. EPA estimates that if each building owner
accepts this challenge, by 2015 Americans would save about $10 billion and reduce GHG emissions by
more than 20 million metric tons of carbon equivalent, equal to the emissions from 15 million vehicles.
ENERGY STAR Free Online Training. ENERGY STAR offers free online training sessions on a variety of
energy performance topics.
Off the Charts. Off the Charts is EPA's ENERGY STAR e-newsletter on energy management
developments and activities.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.
cfm?c = challenge.bus_challenge
http://www.energystar.gov/index.
cfm?c = business.bus_internet_
presentations
http://www. energystar.gov/ia/
business/guidelines/assess_value/
Off_the_ Charts_Summer_2007.pdf
3. PLANNING AND DESIGN
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STEP 1: MAKE COMMITMENTS
Committing to a policy for improving energy efficiency
in a specified portfolio of buildings is an important
first step for ensuring success. This step involves: (1)
identifying a team of qualified personnel to initiate and
lead the energy policy development process, and (2)
instituting and committing to an energy policy based
on the team's guidance and recommendations.
• Use a team approach. Identifying a team of qualified
and experienced personnel from across the school
district to initiate and lead the policy development
process helps ensure that energy efficiency programs
are carefully crafted. Bringing together a team of inter-
ested individuals with diverse backgrounds in school
operations also ensures that energy efficiency programs
receive broad support.
In addition to using a team approach for developing
the overall school district energy efficiency policy, a
team approach can be applied within individual build-
ings. At the building level, upgrading and designing
energy-efficient buildings requires all project team
members to be involved early in the pre-design stages,
when the project's energy performance targets are set,
to ensure that future decisions will be made with the
project intentions intact. The team works together to
identify information needs and share knowledge of
each building system to achieve optimal integration.
EPA has developed a factsheet providing information
on building a team to develop and implement energy
efficiency programs, available at http:/'/www.energystar.
gov/ia/business/challenge/get_started/CreateATeam.
pdf. For more information on using a team approach
to continually develop and improve an overall school
district energy efficiency program, see Section 6, Strat-
egies/or Effective Program Implementation.
' Establish and commit to an energy policy. Based on
input from the energy policy team, the next step is to
formalize the school district's commitment to improv-
ing energy efficiency. Instituting an energy policy
that clearly states a school district's objectives can
help secure support from elected officials and buy-in
from schools. In addition, committing to a formalized
energy policy facilitates accurate and useful tracking of
the impacts of energy efficiency programs.
Many school districts have included in their energy
policies a range of commitments to specific actions that
can eventually lead to easier and more effective imple-
mentation of an overall energy efficiency program.
These commitments include:
> Improving energy efficiency across an entire
portfolio. A number of school districts have
adopted energy policies that include commitments
to reducing energy consumption in their facilities
by a specific percentage portfolio-wide. These
commitments provide a clear objective toward
which progress can be continually measured. As of
November 2008, nearly 200 school districts have
committed to improving energy performance by 10
percent across their entire school building portfo-
lios through the ENERGY STAR Challenge.
In November 2005, Council Rock School
District in Newtown, Pennsylvania, an
ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year with
17 facilities, adopted an energy policy that
established a goal for the school district to
improve energy efficiency across its portfolio
of buildings by 10-15 percent. By 2007 the
school district had improved its energy effi-
ciency by 30 percent, earning recognition as an
ENERGY STAR Leader for reaching this
important energy-saving milestone (U.S. EPA,
2008J).
Using life-cycle cost analysis. Because school
districts plan to use their school buildings for up
to 50 years, they are well positioned to adopt life-
cycle cost analyses when making decisions about
purchasing energy-using products (U.S. EPA,
2008). Traditional methods for assessing project
cost effectiveness typically focus on the initial
design and construction costs. The life-cycle cost
of a product or service is the sum of the present
values of the costs of investment, capital, installa-
tion, energy, operation, maintenance, and disposal
over the life of the product (U.S. DOE, 2003).
Because life-cycle cost analysis reveals whether
energy efficiency investments are cost-effective
over the long run, it can be an important feature of
an overall energy policy.
Some school districts use life-cycle cost analyses
to prioritize energy efficiency activities and
energy-efficient products based on comparative
simple payback periods. Common applications of
life-cycle cost analysis that can be used by school
Energy Efficiency in K-12 Schools | Local Government Climate and Energy Strategy Series
3. PLANNING AND DESIGN
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districts include analyses of efficiency targets for
buildings, machinery, and electronic equipment for
the office. Life-cycle cost analysis can be particu-
larly useful when evaluating high-cost infrastruc-
ture and renewable energy opportunities (Union of
British Columbia Municipalities, 2009).
EPA has developed savings calculators that
school districts can use to assess the life-cycle and
annual costs and savings of a variety of ENERGY
STAR labeled products, available at http://www.
energystar.gov/index. cfm ?c=bulk_purchasing.
bus_pur'chasing. For a list of ENERGY STAR
labeled products that are relevant for schools, refer
to Table 3, ENERGY STAR Specification Overviews:
Energy Savings and Payback Periods.
> Purchasing energy-efficient products. Some school
districts are making procurement policies for effi-
cient products explicit parts of their energy poli-
cies. (See EPAs Energy-Efficient Product Procure-
ment guide in the Local Government Climate and
Energy Strategy Series for more information
and local government examples.) Purchasing
energy-efficient products can make comprehensive
energy efficiency upgrades more cost-effective by
reducing building energy loads (and the size of
the systems needed to meet those loads), typically
by as much as 10 percent (LBNL, 2002). Table 2
summarizes the potential energy and CO2 savings
associated with purchasing energy-efficient prod-
ucts for five product categories.
>• Ensuring energy efficiency is a key component of
green school programs. Energy efficiency can be
integrated with other green building measures to
achieve additional energy, environmental, indoor
air quality, and water savings benefits. Designing
for superior energy performance is often the first
step in building green school buildings, and can
improve environmental performance and overall
cost effectiveness of a green building strategy (U.S.
EPA, 2003; U.S. EPA, 2006). See the following
subsection, Energy Efficiency in Green Schools, for
additional information.
STEPS 2 AND 3: ASSESS BASELINE ENERGY
PERFORMANCE AND SET GOALS
After making a commitment, the next two steps to
improve energy efficiency across a portfolio of school
buildings are to assess baseline energy performance
and set goals. Assessing energy performance involves
looking at how energy is used in existing school build-
ings and identifying priority opportunities to improve
energy efficiency. Setting goals, on the other hand,
involves looking at potential savings in new and reno-
vated school buildings as well as existing ones.
ASSESS BASELINE ENERGY PERFORMANCE IN
EXISTING SCHOOLS
Understanding the impacts of improvements in energy
efficiency in existing school buildings requires peri-
odically reviewing a school's energy performance by
comparing current energy consumption to its baseline
consumption (established at a specified time in the
past). Key approaches for assessing baseline building
energy performance include:
Use available, standardized tools for baseline energy
consumption assessments. Standardized tools can
help assess baseline energy performance and track
building energy data. For example, EPAs Portfolio
Manager is an online tool that can assess baseline
energy performance in existing buildings, including
school buildings, and compile data across a portfolio of
buildings (U.S. EPA, 2008n).
In 2003 the Whitefish Bay School District in Wiscon-
sin, working with Energy Education, Inc.4 and using
Portfolio Manager, began an energy improvement
program to help control rising energy costs. Since its
baseline year of 2003, the district has succeeded in
reducing energy use and cost by more than 20 percent,
resulting in cost savings of more than $927,000, or
the cost of 13 full-time staff. The school district has
been recognized by EPA as an ENERGY STAR Top
Performer for having an energy performance score of
75 or better across its portfolio of buildings (U.S. EPA,
2009b).
Benchmark buildings. Benchmarking involves
comparing a building's energy performance to the
performance of similar buildings across the country.
For certain building types, including school buildings,
EPA provides an energy performance score in Portfolio
Manager to compare buildings nationwide on a scale of
1-100. For example, a score of 75 means the evaluated
building performs better than 75 percent of similar
buildings nationwide. This information can help school
4 Energy Education Inc. is an ENERGY STAR partner that creates and
implements energy conservation programs for schools and other organizations
by focusing on organizational and behavioral change.
10
3. PLANNING AND DESIGN
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TABLE 2
ESTIMATED ENERGY COST AND CO, SAVINGS FROM A SAMPLE OF ENERGY STAR PRODUCTS3
Annual
. . Annual Energy CO,
Action _ „ . „ . 2
Cost Savings Savings
(Tons)
Replace 5,000 computers and monitors with
ENERGY STAR labeled products and activate power
$290,210
2,177
•f r Life-
Lifetime „ ' 6 ^ 6 Cycle CO.
EnergyCost „ . 2
(Years) _ . Savings
Scivincrs
9 (Tons)
$663,428
management
Replace 10 conventional commercial dishwashers with
ENERGY STAR labeled products
Replace 50 conventional vending machines with
ENERGY STAR labeled productsc
Replace 100 conventional water coolers with ENERGY
STAR labeled coolers
Replace 500 incandescent exit signs with ENERGY
STAR labeled LED exit signs
$8,690"
$8,544
$3,722
$16,737 in
energy costs
plus $33,696 in
maintenance
costs
57
125
10
$60,483"
14
10
10
$90,250
$30,188
$484,800 in
energy and
maintenance
savings
net price
differential
567
894
278
1,251
a Figures obtained from calculators on the ENERGY STAR Purchasing & Procurement Web site http://www.energystar.gov/purchasing
using default settings and an electricity rate of 10.3C per kWh (EIA, 2009). Annual costs exclude the initial purchase price and installation
cost. All costs are discounted over the product's lifetime using a real discount rate of 4%.
b Value includes water savings.
c Vending machines assumed to have capacities of less than 500 cans.
districts prioritize buildings for energy efficiency
investments and/or a comprehensive energy audit (see
the next bullet, below).
The Davenport Community School District
in Davenport, Iowa, is using an automated
benchmarking system to rate and track the
performance of 29 of its school facilities. Formerly
the school district manually entered energy
consumption data for each facility into Portfolio
Manager, but has recently installed software that
automatically communicates with EPA's system so
that energy consumption data is directly translated
at regular intervals into performance scores. This
automated tracking system enables the school
district to periodically identify low-performing
energy-using systems and prioritize energy effi-
ciency investments. Using this information and
following the ENERGY STAR Guidelines for Energy
Management, the district has reduced energy costs
by $1.2 million since the 2003-2004 schoolyear
(U.S. EPA, 20081).
Conduct technical assessments and audits. In addi-
tion to establishing baseline energy performance and
determining a school's relative performance compared
to its peers, a thorough energy performance assess-
ment includes comparing the actual performance of
a school's systems and equipment with its designed
performance level or the performance level of top-
performing technologies. These technical assessments
can be conducted as part of a whole-building energy
audit by an energy professional and used to identify
priority energy efficiency investments.
Many school districts have incorporated these energy
audits into energy performance contracts, which offer
a one-stop process for purchasing, installing, maintain-
ing, and often financing energy efficiency upgrades
at no upfront cost. EPA has developed a directory
of energy professionals, energy service companies
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3. PLANNING AND DESIGN
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(ESCOs), and other companies that can provide school
districts with expert advice and technical assistance on
conducting energy audits and entering energy perfor-
mance contracts.5 For more information on energy
performance contracting, see Section 7, Investment
and Financing Opportunities.
SET GOALS FOR EXISTING AND NEW SCHOOL
BUILDING PORTFOLIOS
School districts can establish portfolio-wide energy
efficiency goals for their building portfolios (including
existing and new school buildings) to help maintain
momentum for energy management activities, guide
daily decisionmaking, and track and measure progress.
For existing school buildings, portfolio-wide goals
can be based on the results of the baseline energy
performance assessment and the priority investments
identified through that process. For new buildings,
goals can be based on output from energy performance
projection tools and best practices.
Key considerations for setting portfolio-wide goals
include:
1 Consider potential savings. Assessing potential
energy savings helps determine appropriate portfolio-
wide energy efficiency goals that are clear and measur-
able. School districts can use information collected
during energy performance assessments and technical
audits to determine potential energy savings from
priority investments. School districts can also evaluate
a school's benchmarking results to estimate potential
savings based on the energy performance of similar
school buildings.
GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA - GUILFORD
NORTHERN MIDDLE SCHOOL
Guilford Northern Middle School earned EPA's "Designed
to Earn the ENERGY STAR" designation, indicating the
building was designed to achieve a top 25% score on
the ENERGY STAR scale. The building's features include
an innovative strategy that is intended to provide full
lighting levels via daylighting for two-thirds of the
building's operational hours. This strategy will incorporate
south-facing clerestory windows designed to minimize
heat-inducing glare, as well as occupancy and photocell
sensors to control fluorescent fixtures.
Source: U.S. EPA, 2007d.
5 See http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfmfc = spp res.pt sppsfor a direc-
tory of energy service and product providers.
For new and renovated buildings, school districts can
consider the potential savings of each building by using
tools such as EPA's Target Finder to set energy perfor-
mance targets and assess building designs. In addition,
school districts can consider the savings achieved by
similar organizations by reviewing others' experiences.
School buildings that earn the EPA ENERGY STAR
label for superior energy performance, for example,
generally use about 40 percent less energy compared to
conventional school buildings (U.S. EPA, 2008o).
Determine appropriate scope. Goals for improving
energy efficiency across a portfolio of buildings can
be established at different levels, ranging from a single
school building to a set of school buildings to the entire
portfolio. These goals can also be established over
varying periods. Many school districts have established
both short-term and long-term goals that can lead to
quick cost savings that continue to accrue far into the
future.
Goals for improving energy efficiency across a port-
folio of K-12 school buildings can be part of a larger
community or local government goal that incorporates
multiple clean energy activities. For example, energy
efficiency goals for K-12 school buildings can be part
of a broader goal for reducing state and local energy
use and GHG emissions. For information on how
local governments can improve energy efficiency in
other municipal buildings, see EPA's Energy Efficiency
in Local Government Operations guide in the Local
Government Climate and Energy Strategy Series.
In 2008, Wisconsin's lieutenant governor
issued a statewide ENERGY STAR Challenge
to school districts to become 10 percent
more energy-efficient within 1 year, with a goal of
100 districts participating. Districts that choose to
participate are provided with tools and support to
guide their efforts. As of December 2008,96
districts had risen to the challenge (Wisconsin,
2009).
STEP 4: CREATE AN ACTION PLAN
A regularly updated action plan can serve as a road-
map toward meeting portfolio-wide energy efficiency
goals by systematically improving efficiency in exist-
ing school buildings and designing efficient new and
renovated buildings. Step 4 of the ENERGY STAR
12
3. PLANNING AND DESIGN
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Guidelines for Energy Management, Create an Action
Plan, involves establishing energy performance targets
for each school building, identifying the technical
measures that can help meet that performance target,
identifying resources necessary to implement the
action plan, and determining the responsibilities of
internal and external parties.
Key strategies for creating an action plan include:
Develop whole building energy performance targets.
Once a school district has evaluated its portfolio's
performance and set portfolio-wide goals, it can estab-
lish energy performance targets for each existing and
new building. Establishing energy performance targets
for each building allows school districts to clearly artic-
ulate to building occupants and other key personnel
the expected results of energy efficiency investments
in each facility, and enables them to track progress and
measure results. Whole building energy performance
measurements can be developed for existing buildings
using Portfolio Manager, which enables users to iden-
tify baseline energy performance and set targets based
on EPA's national energy performance scale (U.S. EPA,
2008n). For new school buildings, Target Finder can be
used to set whole building performance targets (U.S.
EPA, 2008p).
The Poudre School District in Fort Collins,
Colorado, used Target Finder when design-
ing its new Operations Building. By adjust-
ing the design throughout the process, the design
team was able to produce a final design that
repeatedly achieved projected scores in the 80s and
earned the designation "Designed to Earn the
ENERGY STAR." Completed in 2002, the building
earned the ENERGY STAR label after 1 year, and
in 2005 achieved a perfect score (U.S. EPA, 2008p;
U.S. EPA, 2008q).
Use a staged approach to identify technical measures
for improving energy efficiency. A staged approach
to improve energy efficiency in existing school build-
ings and incorporating energy efficiency in new and
renovated buildings can lead to greater overall energy
cost savings. The sections below provide information
on using a staged approach in existing and new school
buildings, including a number of resources that offer
guidance on selecting technical measures to incorpo-
rate into energy efficiency action plans.
In addition, school districts can obtain information
on best practices from other school districts that
have improved energy efficiency in their facilities.
ENERGY STAR Labeled Buildings and Plants is an
EPA-maintained list of the more than 4,000 build-
ings that have earned the ENERGY STAR label for
energy performance (U.S. EPA, 2008r). In addition,
many ESCOs have experience with proven technical
energy efficiency measures, and can incorporate these
measures into an action plan through the energy
performance contracting process. EPA has developed
a directory of providers that can help school districts
with expert advice and technical assistance on entering
energy performance contracts.6
USING A STAGED APPROACH IN EXISTING
SCHOOL BUILDINGS
For existing school buildings, a staged approach that
sequences building upgrades in a logical, systems-
oriented way can lead to the greatest energy savings for
the available budget. When following this approach,
school districts can identify appropriate technical
measures for each step in the process.
EPA recommends using a five-stage approach to
upgrading facilities (see the text box on page 14 for a
more detailed description). The approach includes the
following stages:
1. Conduct retrocommissioning.
2. Install energy-efficient lighting.
3. Reduce supplemental loads (e.g., by purchasing
ENERGY STAR labeled equipment).
4. Install fan system upgrades.
5. Install heating and cooling system upgrades.
6 See http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfmfc = spp res.pt sppsfor a
directory of 'energy service providers. For more information on performance
contracting, see Section 7, Investment and Financing Opportunities.
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OVERVIEW OF EPA BUILDING UPGRADE MANUAL STAGED APPROACH FOR IMPROVING ENERGY PERFORMANCE
The staged approach outlined in the 2008 ENERGY STAR Building Upgrade Manual provides a systematic method for planning energy
efficiency upgrades in buildings that accounts for interactions between building energy systems, enabling organizations to achieve
significant energy savings. This approach involves the following stages:
1. Retrocommissioning: Commissioning is the process of ensuring that a new building is designed, installed, tested, and capable of
being operated and maintained according to the owner's needs. Commissioning a new building can produce energy cost savings of
$0.02 to $0.19 per square foot (Mills et al., 2004). Commissioning can also produce nonenergy benefits, such as improved occupant
comfort and indoor air quality. One study estimates that the average value of nonenergy benefits for every $1 spent on commissioning
ranges from $1 to as high as $2.30, when accounting for energy efficiency rebates. Nonenergy benefits resulting from commissioning
are estimated to be $0.50 per square foot (Mills et al., 2004; Jennings and Skumatz, 2006).
Retrocommissioning buildings that were never commissioned is a key step in
identifying technical measures for a staged approach to improving energy efficiency.
This process can identify no- and low-cost technical measures for improving energy
efficiency and can result in energy cost savings between $0.11 and $0.72 per square
foot (Mills et al., 2004). Recommissioning is the process of commissioning a building
that has already been commissioned.
2. Lighting Upgrade: Improving the energy efficiency of the building lighting system
can reduce lighting energy costs. Lighting systems can account for up to 40% of a
building's total energy use. Improving energy efficiency can halve lighting energy
consumption while improving lighting quality and reducing unwanted heat gain.
Improving lighting system energy efficiency involves the following steps:
• Design light quantity and quality to meet task and occupant needs
• Maximize lamp and ballast efficiency
• Install automatic controls to turn off or dim lighting
• Establish schedules for group re-lamping and fixture cleaning
• Purchase ENERGY STAR labeled lighting products
• Use responsible disposal practices
ENERGY STAR*
Building Upgrade Manual
3. Supplemental Load Reductions: Purchasing ENERGY STAR labeled office equipment and improving the energy efficiency of building
envelope components (e.g., installing window films and adding insulation or reflective roof coating) reduces supplemental load energy
consumption. Reducing supplemental loads enables organizations to install smaller fan, heating, and cooling systems that cost less and
use less energy.
4. Air Distribution System Upgrades: Air distribution systems account for approximately 7% of an office building's total energy use.
Technical measures, such as right-sizing fan system equipment and converting to a variable-air-volume system, can significantly
reduce air distribution system energy costs. For example, reducing a fan's speed by 20% (e.g., by using a variable-speed drive) can
reduce its energy consumption by 50%.
5. Heating and Cooling System Upgrades: Heating and cooling systems typically account for one-fourth of a building's energy use.
Improving energy efficiency in these systems can produce significant savings. A strategy for improving heating and cooling system
efficiency involves:
• Measure heating and cooling loads
• Right-size heating and cooling systems
• Install energy-efficient chillers
• Upgrade other heating and cooling system components
• Install variable-speed drives on pumps and cooling tower fans
• Optimize operations.
Source: U.S. EPA, 2008.
ENERGY STAR
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Implementing upgrades in appropriate stages reduces
the overall heating and cooling capacity needed,7 which
can enable school districts to purchase right-sized
equipment. Right-sized equipment meets the neces-
sary load after efficiency measures are implemented, as
opposed to oversized equipment that serves the load
but at a higher upfront cost.
Energy efficiency upgrade and design guidance materi-
als are helpful for identifying and prioritizing technical
measures to incorporate into a school district's energy
efficiency action plan. For example, the ENERGY STAR
Building Upgrade Manual provides guidance on using
the staged approach for upgrading existing buildings,
including a chapter on schools specifically (see the text
box on page 14).
USING A STAGED APPROACH IN NEW AND
RENOVATED SCHOOL BUILDINGS
While the preceding staged approach makes sense for
existing school buildings, many school districts follow
a different approach for new school buildings. School
districts can use EPA's ENERGY STAR Integrated
7 In typical office buildings, local governments can achieve cooling capacity
reductions of up to 5 percent if operations and maintenance practices, lighting
systems, and HVAC systems are upgraded in subsequent order (National
Action Plan for Energy Efficiency, 2008). For more information on improving
energy performance in municipal buildings through the staged approach, see
EPA's Energy Efficiency in Local Government Operations guide in the Local
Government Climate and Energy Strategy Series.
Energy Design Guidance to design new school building
systems and materials as an integral network that will
improve energy performance (U.S. EPA, 2008c). This
guidance document can help school districts identify
cost-effective energy efficiency investments that
consider the environment, climate, building orienta-
tion, and other features that affect performance in new
school buildings.
For new and renovated school buildings, school
districts can also use the Whole Building Design Guide,
a resource developed with EPA and DOE support
by the National Institute of Building Sciences, which
provides information on energy-efficient building
design and offers numerous case studies, tools, and
guidance documents. Other design guidelines include
the DOE EnergySmart Schools Advanced Energy
Design Guide for K-12 School Buildings, which includes
individual guidelines for a range of climate types,
and the Collaborative for High Performance Schools
(CHPS) Best Practices Manual (see the text box on page
15 for more information on CHPS).
1 Secure necessary funding. When designing an
action plan for improving energy efficiency in school
buildings, it is important to identify the costs of
implementing the action plan, and to evaluate funding
options. The following financial tools, as listed in Table
1, ENERGY STAR Program Resources, are available
through EPAs ENERGY STAR program to evaluate
the investment required for priority energy efficiency
COLLABORATIVE FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE SCHOOLS
The Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) brings together stakeholders from utilities, state and local governments, and
nonprofit organizations to facilitate design of high-performance school buildings. The goal of the program is to use energy-efficient
design to provide an outstanding learning environment, a healthy and safe place to work, increased school durability, cost-effectiveness
over the life of a building, maximum conservation of resources, and long-term benefits to taxpayers through energy cost savings.
The collaborative oversees a green building rating program designed exclusively for K-12 schools that is based on, and similar in
structure and function to, the LEED green building rating system for new construction. It provides technical workshops for design
professionals and has developed a six-volume best practices manual. The collaborative recognizes projects for meeting CHPS criteria
through two programs: CHPS Verified and CHPS Designed. CHPS Designed is a free self-certification program, while CHPS Verified
provides third-party verification.
The CHPS criteria address energy and water efficiency, site and materials selection, and indoor environmental quality, and provide
sustainable policies and innovations that can be adopted by schools and districts. The criteria model originated in California and
has been borrowed and adapted by a number of states, including Massachusetts, New York, and Washington, and the multistate,
nongovernmental organization Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships. As a result, the criteria and the specific targets and goals
within them vary across scorecards based on the different climate conditions, demographics, and needs of the states and organizations
that have adopted the CHPS model.
Source: CHPS, Undated(a); MTC, 2007a; Washington, 2006; NYSERDA, 2007.
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projects, and to help make the financial case for energy
efficiency investments:
> Cash Flow Opportunity Calculator. This tool can
determine how much new energy-efficient equip-
ment can be purchased based on estimated cost
savings, whether equipment should be purchased
now using financing or if it is better to wait and
use cash from a future year's budget, and whether
money is being lost by waiting for lower interest
rates.
> Financial Value Calculator. This tool presents
energy efficiency investment opportunities in
terms of key financial metrics. It can determine
how energy efficiency improvements can affect
organizational profit margins and returns on
investments.
> Building Upgrade Value Calculator. This calcula-
tor can estimate the financial benefits of improving
energy efficiency in office buildings.
CASH FLOW OPPORTUNITY CALCULATOR
The ENERGY STAR Cash Flow Opportunity Calculator is a
decisionmaking tool that can be used to influence timing
of energy-efficient product purchases. The tool can be
used to determine:
• The quantity of energy-efficient equipment that
can be purchased and financed using anticipated
savings;
• Whether it is most cost-effective for the purchase to
be financed now, or to be paid with future operating
funds; and
• The cost of delay: whether money is being lost while
waiting for a lower interest rate.
www.energystar.gov/ia/business/cfo_calculator.xls
Source: U.S. EPA, 2003b.
Once a school district has determined the size of the
investment required to implement priority energy
efficiency upgrades, it can consider a range of funding
options. Financial assistance for improving energy
efficiency in school buildings can be secured through
a number of sources. Many states administer programs
that provide incentives to schools for investments in
energy efficiency, while a number of school districts
have identified and secured funding resources from
external sources. Energy performance contracts, for
example, can be used to implement energy efficiency
upgrades at no upfront cost, often through a financial
arrangement with an ESCO. For more information on
funding energy efficiency improvements, see Section 7,
Investment and Financing Opportunities.
In cases where school districts do not have sufficient
resources to improve energy efficiency across a broad
portfolio of school buildings, they can concentrate
resources to systematically improve energy efficiency
in one or a few schools. Experiences from such pilot
projects can be applied to a broader set of schools
when additional resources become available. In addi-
tion, school districts can use pilot projects and studies
to gather information on the benefits and costs of
priority investments, and use them to increase public
awareness of energy efficiency activities. Pilot projects
can also help identify potential full-scale implementa-
tion challenges.
STEPS 5 AND 6: IMPLEMENT THE ACTION
PLAN AND EVALUATE PROGRESS
Step 5 of the ENERGY STAR Guidelines for Energy
Management, Implement the Action Plan, involves
gaining the support and cooperation of individuals at
different levels within the school district and individual
schools. The guidelines identify five steps for ensuring
effective implementation of the action plan:
1 Create a communication plan
1 Raise awareness
1 Build capacity
1 Motivate
1 Track and monitor
Section 6, Strategies for Effective Program Implementa-
tion, provides information on strategies that school
districts have used to address the first four steps,
including strategies for gaining buy-in from key
personnel.
ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN A TRACKING SYSTEM
The fifth step in implementing an action plan is to
develop a tracking system and use it to continuously
track and monitor energy use data, which is critical for
evaluating program progress. Maintaining an effective
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centralized tracking system involves the following
actions:
Perform regular updates. Data can be collected and
incorporated into the tracking system at regular inter-
vals, typically weekly or monthly. Regular data updates
ensure the system provides helpful output when it
comes time to evaluate program progress.
Conduct periodic reviews. Periodic reviews of
progress made toward meeting interim goals and
milestones can help ensure an energy program will
meet its ultimate performance goals (as established in
Steps 2 and 3, Assess Baseline Energy Performance and
Set Goals) when the energy team conducts a complete
program progress evaluation.
Identify necessary corrective actions. Periodic
reviews can also identify corrective actions the energy
team can take before a formal program evaluation.
EVALUATE PROGRESS
Implementing an action plan for improving energy
efficiency does not in itself guarantee a school building
will achieve its intended energy performance target.
Step 6 of the ENERGY STAR Guidelines for Energy
Management, Evaluate Progress, describes a process
for evaluating the progress of an energy program using
information collected during the tracking and moni-
toring process described above. The guidelines identify
two critical steps involved in evaluating an energy
efficiency program:
Measure results. Comparing the performance of a
portfolio of buildings at the time of evaluation to the
baseline performance enables school districts to deter-
mine whether they have met their portfolio-wide goals
(see Steps 2 and 3, Assess Baseline Energy Performance
and Set Goals). Measuring results involves gathering
data on energy use and costs from the continuous
tracking system (see Step 5, Implement the Action
Plan) and analyzing these data to identify savings. A
complementary step is to ensure third-party verifica-
tion of savings data so that intended energy perfor-
mance is actually achieved. School districts can obtain
third-party verification from a number of sources,
including ESCOs and energy service providers.8
8 See http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfmfc = spp res.pt sppsfor a direc-
tory of energy service providers.
A final step in measuring results involves benchmark-
ing energy performance. As described under Steps 2
and 3, Assess Baseline Energy Performance and Set
Goals, benchmarking can occur earlier in the energy
management process to estimate potential savings and
help develop a baseline and set goals. Benchmarking
can also be conducted during the evaluation process.
Using EPAs national energy performance scale (e.g.,
using Portfolio Manager) allows school districts to:
> Compare their new performance score to their
baseline performance score
> Compare their achieved performance against
established goals for environmental performance
or financial savings
> Compare their achieved energy performance to
peers to establish a relative understanding of where
their performance ranks
1 Review the action plan. Once a school district has
determined the results of its energy efficiency invest-
ments, both in terms of energy savings and bench-
marking, it can use this information to evaluate the
effectiveness of its action plan. If the results indicate
the school district did not reach its goals, the district
can consider revising the action plan (e.g., to focus on
implementing energy efficiency upgrades in additional
priority buildings). If the results indicate the school
district did reach its goals, the district can consider
setting higher goals for achieving greater energy cost
savings and revise the action plan accordingly.
STEP 7: RECOGNIZE SUCCESS
One way to sustain momentum and support for energy
efficiency activities is to be recognized for achieving
performance goals. As a complement to opportunities
for recognizing success internally, third-party recogni-
tion options include:
1 ENERGY STAR labeled buildings. School buildings
achieving an energy performance score of 75 or greater
are eligible to apply for the ENERGY STAR label.
Buildings that have earned the ENERGY STAR label
use, on average, 40 percent less energy compared to
conventional buildings (U.S. EPA, 2008d).
1 ENERGY STAR awards. EPA also provides recogni-
tion to organizations that meet important energy
savings milestones, such as improvements of 10
percent, 20 percent, 30 percent, or more, relative to
their initial baselines. As of August 2009, more than
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60 school districts have met these milestones, earning
recognition as ENERGY STAR Leaders (U.S. EPA,
2009i).
ENERGY STAR LEADERS IN K-12 SCHOOLS
School districts that are ENERGY STAR partners and
demonstrate continuous improvement in energy
performance organization-wide, not just in individual
buildings, qualify for recognition as ENERGY STAR
Leaders. Based on results tracked in Portfolio Manager,
ENERGY STAR Leader recognition is provided for
achieving portfolio-wide energy efficiency improvements
of 10%, 20%, and 30% (or more) in normalized energy
use. ENERGY STAR Leaders who also achieve an average
score in Portfolio Manager of 75 or better portfolio-wide
are recognized as Top Performers (U.S. EPA, 2009i).
Nash-Rocky Mount School District in Nash-
ville, North Carolina, initially committed to
reducing energy costs across its portfolio of
29 facilities in 2004. By implementing portfolio-
wide comprehensive energy upgrades—which
involved partnering with the state energy office,
ESCOs, and energy efficiency service providers—
the school district was able to improve energy effi-
ciency by 20 percent in 2006. In 2008 the school
district was recognized as an ENERGY STAR Top
Performer for achieving a portfolio-wide average
score of 75 on EPA's national energy performance
scale. Between September 2004 and August 2007,
the school district saved a total of $3.1 million
(Nash-Rocky Mount, 2008). Over 3.5 years, the
district reduced overall energy use by 28 percent,
decreasing CO2 emissions by more than 18,600
tons, equivalent to the annual emissions of 3,000
cars (Southface, 2009). The district received an
ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year award in
March 2009.
Energy Efficiency in Green
School Buildings
Many school districts have found that the processes
of planning, designing, and constructing new and
renovated energy-efficient school buildings—as
described in the preceding section—offer opportunities
to integrate energy efficiency with other green features
(e.g., use of renewable energy supplies and sustainable
site selection). These features can provide additional
environmental, economic, and health benefits. In addi-
tion to enhancing a school building's environmental
profile (e.g., through reduced GHG emissions), school
districts have found that incorporating energy efficien-
cy can improve the cost effectiveness of green school
buildings. Because of this, energy efficiency is often
considered first in green school building design, and
has become the cornerstone of many school district
green building programs.
GREEN BUILDINGS
Many terms are used to describe buildings that
incorporate energy efficiency and other environmental
features, including "green buildings," "high-performance
buildings," and "sustainable buildings." Regardless of
the definitions, there is often a public perception that
energy efficiency and "green" are interchangeable, and
that green buildings are energy efficient. However, this
is not always the case. Some "green" buildings do not
adequately incorporate energy efficiency.
This section uses the term "green building" as an all-
encompassing description of buildings that incorporate
energy efficiency plus other energy and environmental
features where cost-effective and practical, including:
• Renewable energy supply
• Combined heat and power (CHP)
• Sustainable site design that minimizes stress on the
local landscape
• Water efficiency and quality
• Green materials and resources that minimize
consumption and waste
• Indoor environmental quality
BENEFITS OF GREEN BUILDINGS
By incorporating energy efficiency into green school
buildings and green school building policies, school
districts can achieve all the energy efficiency benefits
described in Section 2, Benefits of Energy Efficiency
in K-12 Schools. In particular, the reduced energy
costs associated with incorporating energy efficiency
in green school buildings can help districts achieve
overall cost effectiveness in green building design (U.S.
EPA, 2008o; U.S. EPA, 2006b).
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Green buildings can provide several additional envi-
ronmental benefits, including:
Lower GHG emissions
Reduced construction/demolition debris
Ecosystem protection
Natural resources conservation
RECYCLING-ENERGY RELATIONSHIP
• Recycling 1 pound of steel saves 5,450 Btu of energy,
enough to light a 60-watt bulb for more than 26
hours.
• Recycling 1 ton of glass saves the equivalent of nine
gallons of fuel oil.
• Recycling aluminum cans requires only 5% of the
energy needed to produce aluminum from bauxite.
Recycling just one can saves enough electricity to light
a 100-watt bulb for 3.5 hours.
Source: Pennsylvania, 2007.
EPA WATERSENSE LABEL
The EPA WaterSense Program label is for products
that are independently tested to meet water efficiency
and performance criteria. Labeling criteria have been
established for plumbing fixtures (toilets, faucets,
showerheads, and urinals), new homes, and training
programs for irrigation professionals. In general,
products that receive
the WaterSense
label are 20% more
water-efficient than
conventional products.
In addition to conserving
water, these products
can reduce the amount
of energy required to
deliver and treat water.
Source: U.S. EPA, 2007c.
Some green building environmental features can also
have secondary energy-saving benefits. For example,
many green school buildings incorporate water
efficiency measures that reduce water heating energy
consumption while conserving a natural resource (U.S.
EPA, 2008s). The actual benefits of green buildings
depend on the environmental features incorporated
into the designs, which can depend on the green build-
ing rating system followed (e.g., CHPS, LEED, Green
Globes) and whether the building operates as designed.
The text box above provides information on the poten-
tial financial benefits of building green schools.
FINANCIAL BENEFITS OF GREEN SCHOOLS
Green school buildings generate substantial energy,
environmental, and health-related benefits. A Capital E
study estimated the savings resulting from green building
design measures in 30 school buildings built in 10 states
in 2001-2006. The table below shows the average
financial benefits of these green school buildings by
specific building attributes.
Energy $ 9
Emissions
Water and Wastewater
Increased Earnings
$1
$1
$49
Asthma Reduction $ 3
Cold and Flu Reduction
Teacher Retention
Employment Impact
TOTAL
COST OF GREENING
NET FINANCIAL BENEFITS
$5
$4
$2
$74
($3)
$71
'Increased Earnings" refers to the higher salaries that
graduates of green schools are projected to earn due
to the higher average learning rates and test scores
associated with green school buildings
Source: Capital E, 2006.
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3. PLANNING AND DESIGN
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PLANNING AND DESIGN APPROACH FOR
INCORPORATING ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN
GREEN BUILDINGS
When planning and designing green school buildings,
school districts can follow the steps outlined in the
preceding section on improving energy efficiency in
school buildings. Incorporating energy efficiency into
green school buildings can also involve the following
actions:
1 Ensure that energy efficiency is specifically included
in green building policies. Energy efficiency is a criti-
cal element of green building and is a key feature of the
design process. School districts have found that requir-
ing a combination of energy performance tools and
green building approaches from the onset can ensure
that new and renovated school buildings meet both
energy performance and environmental criteria. An
increasingly common strategy is to use EPA's ENERGY
STAR platform in conjunction with the U.S. Green
Building Council's (U.S. GBC) Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system for
green building design. For more information on incor-
porating energy efficiency in green building polices,
see the text box on page 21.
The Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Collins,
Colorado, was designed to meet the Silver
standard on the LEED rating system in 2004.
To ensure optimal energy performance, the school
was designated "Designed to Earn the ENERGY
STAR" using Target Finder.
1 Use energy efficiency investments to reduce the cost
of using renewable energy sources. Many school
districts are improving the environmental profile of
their green school buildings by incorporating on-site
renewable energy generation systems into building
designs. These systems, however, can have a high
upfront cost. Many school districts have found that
reducing energy consumption in green school build-
ings through energy efficiency allows them to meet
their renewable energy goals with smaller and less
expensive generation systems. In addition, the energy
cost savings from energy efficiency investments can
offset the cost premiums of using renewable energy
sources. For more information on using renewable
energy sources, see EPAs On-site Renewable Energy
Generation guide in the Local Government Climate and
Energy Strategy Series.
GREEN BUILDING AND ENERGY STAR
When upgrading existing buildings or designing new
buildings, local governments are looking to green
building certification programs such as the U.S. Green
Building Council's (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED) rating system and the
Green Globes rating system. These systems standardize
the elements of green building by conferring design
certification based on requirements for (1) energy and
atmosphere, (2) site sustainability, (3) water efficiency,
(4) materials and resources, (5) indoor air quality, and (6)
innovative design process.
Depending on the rating system, it can be important
to add requirements for energy performance, such as
achieving EPA's ENERGY STAR program levels. It is also
important to require third-party verification, which is
required to earn the ENERGY STAR label on commercial
buildings
Source: LEED, 2005; U.S. EPA, 2008o.
ENERGY-EFFICIENT DESIGN VERSUS PERFORMANCE
While using design standards can be helpful for
implementing energy efficiency measures in new and
renovated buildings, not all design standards guarantee
energy-efficient performance. For instance, facilities
designed to exceed building energy codes will not
necessarily achieve superior energy efficiency because
codes prescribe minimum design criteria for certain
facility components, but do not predict whole building
energy performance. Studies have shown that exceeding
building codes is not a guarantee of future energy
performance.
Source: U.S. EPA, 2006.
' Include requirements for third-party verification
of energy performance. Third-party verification is an
important step toward ensuring that green buildings
are energy-efficient. While some green building certi-
fication only considers a buildings design, third-party
verification of energy performance can determine
whether a building is performing as intended. School
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INCORPORATING ENERGY EFFICIENCY INTO LEED GREEN SCHOOL BUILDING POLICIES
Energy efficiency can be incorporated into green school building policies in a variety of ways. Many school districts have adopted the
LEED for Schools rating system. School districts can take the following steps to incorporate energy efficiency into their LEED green
building policies:
• Target Energy Performance. Require design teams to meet aggressive energy performance targets based on the most energy-
efficient existing buildings in the market. For building types covered by EPA's ENERGY STAR Target Finder, the target should be at
least 75, the level at which a building is "Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR." See Develop Whole Building Performance Targets
under Step 4 in Planning and Design Approaches for Energy Efficiency in K-12 Schools for more detailed guidance and strategies
for building types not covered by Target Finder. Design projects applying for LEED for Schools certification must establish an
Energy Performance score goal using Target Finder as part of Energy & Atmosphere Prerequisite 2. The Statement of Energy
Design Intent (SEDI), generated from Target Finder, documents the energy use goal.
• Achieve Energy-Related Credits. Strive to achieve the greatest possible quantity of credits in the LEED Energy and Atmosphere
credit category.
• Track Results and Strive to Earn the ENERGY STAR. Compare the building's actual performance to the energy target used during
the design phase and confirm that it is eligible for the ENERGY STAR once it has been operating for 1 year. EPA's Portfolio Manager
enables users to track energy consumption, and certain building types are eligible to receive an ENERGY STAR score, similar to
the score generated in Target Finder, for actual energy performance. Any building type, such as a school, that is eligible for a
score must earn a minimum score of 69 in Portfolio Manager to apply for LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance
(LEED-EB: O&M) certification. A summary of energy use, such as the Statement of Energy Performance (SEP) generated in Portfolio
Manager and verified by a professional engineer, must be submitted along with other documentation to demonstrate compliance
through at least 12 months of energy performance. Buildings that receive a 75 or better are eligible to receive the ENERGY STAR.
Source: U.S. GBC, 2007.
districts can include provisions in their green building
policies requiring third-party verification to confirm
that, once operational, school buildings meet the ener-
gy performance targets established during the planning
and design phases. School districts can obtain third-
party verification from a number of sources, including
ESCOs and energy service providers.9 In addition,
the ENERGY STAR Statement of Energy Performance
that is generated from Portfolio Manager can verify
energy efficiency results. School data can be verified by
a professional engineer.
1 Consider conducting a demonstration project.
When resources and/or support for implementing a
green building policy are limited, school districts can
develop a single green school building to serve as a
demonstration project. These projects can be used to
showcase the energy efficiency and environmental
benefits of green buildings, while helping to make the
case for implementing a portfolio-wide green build-
ing approach as additional support and/or resources
become available.
9 See http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfmfc = spp res.pt sppsfor a direc-
tory of energy service and product providers.
4. KEY PARTICIPANTS
School districts often involve a number of participants
when planning and implementing energy efficiency
activities in K-12 school buildings, including:
1 Mayor or county executives. Many local government
executives have been influential in improving energy
efficiency in K-12 school buildings in their communi-
ties. In a number of local governments, mayors have
adopted energy efficiency policies encompassing all
public facilities, including school buildings. A number
of mayors have joined the Mayors' Alliance for Green
Schools to increase awareness of opportunities for
energy efficiency and other environmental features in
school buildings (U.S. GBC, 2008).
1 City or county councils. City and county councils
often have a close working relationship with school
districts, particularly the school superintendent. In
many localities, the city or county council has worked
with the superintendent to initiate energy efficiency
programs across school districts.
1 Local government agencies. School districts can
obtain technical and informational assistance from
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4. KEY PARTICIPANTS
21
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local government agencies, including local energy,
environment, and planning departments. Staff from
such agencies can often direct school districts to
resources for improving energy efficiency in public
facilities, and can sometimes offer technical assistance
in implementing upgrades to school buildings.
1 Superintendents. Many school districts have found
it important to gain the support of school district
superintendents because their visibility to both parents
and local government officials can help highlight the
effectiveness of energy efficiency improvements.
1 School boards. School boards often play an important
role in planning and implementing energy efficiency
activities in K-12 school buildings. The school board is
often responsible for determining how school district
money is spent, which can have significant implica-
tions for energy efficiency investments. In a number
of school districts, the board requires regular reports
on energy efficiency upgrades in the district's school
buildings.
DeKalb County Central United School
District in Waterloo, Indiana, joined the
ENERGY STAR Challenge in 2008 to
improve energy performance by 10 percent. The
school district has been working with an ENERGY
STAR service provider for 4 years to improve ener-
gy efficiency in its school buildings. The school
district's energy program managers report to the
school board on energy efficiency activities every 6
months. These reports to the school board are
covered by the local media (U.S. EPA, 2008i).
1 Energy program managers. In school districts that
have hired an energy manager to oversee their energy
consumption, the manager often reports directly to
the superintendent or school board, and generally
works closely with the facility management team.
Many schools participating in the Collaborative for
High Performance Schools (CHPS) in California, for
example, have appointed energy program managers
to be responsible for implementing the collaborative's
initiatives in each of the district's facilities (CHPS,
2006).
In Austin, Minnesota, the school district
hired an energy coordinator to work with an
outside firm in tracking energy consumption
in the district's seven school buildings. Having an
energy coordinator to oversee energy efficiency
improvements has been an integral part of the
school district's energy efficiency program, which
has helped reduce annual energy costs by $140,000
(U.S. EPA, 2008e).
1 Principals, teachers, and other staff. Many school
districts have found that working with school districts
to involve principals, teachers, and other staff in the
energy efficiency activity planning process can help
planners understand the specific needs that a school
building's design must accommodate, and in turn helps
educators teach students about these energy-efficient
features. A number of school districts have provided
training sessions for school staff on operating building
controls and promoting energy-efficient practices to
the student body (U.S. EPA, 2008).
1 Students and parents. Many local governments have
found that working with school districts to involve
students in planning and implementing energy effi-
ciency measures can be an effective way to ensure buy-
in and gathering feedback. Some schools have asked
students to identify strategies for reducing energy
consumption in school facilities and operations.
Clarence Middle School in Clarence, New
York, instituted an intentional, temporary
blackout during which students were encour-
aged to brainstorm strategies for conserving ener-
gy, many of which—such as a school-wide light
switch reminder sticker design contest—were
subsequently implemented (ASE, 2002).
In Minnesota, the Schools for Energy Effi-
ciency program works with school districts
to improve energy efficiency in their facili-
ties. Through the program, students are encour-
aged to develop their own energy efficiency initia-
tives, many of which have involved behavioral
changes in school facilities (SEE, 2007).
Several school districts have reached out to parents in
the energy efficiency program planning and develop-
ment processes. Involving parents in these processes
can increase local awareness of energy efficiency and
build support for the activities a school is planning.
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Involving parents can also offer opportunities for
school districts to leverage additional community
resources.
The Council Rock School District in
Newtown, Pennsylvania, established a Go
Green Team to lead its environmental initia-
tive, which includes an energy management
program. The team is comprised of faculty and
staff from each of the district's schools and
includes a representative from each school's
parent-teacher organization (U.S. EPA, 2008J).
1 Utilities and other energy efficiency program admin-
istrators. Utilities and other energy efficiency program
administrators (e.g., state-administered public service
energy efficiency agencies) can provide school districts
with technical assistance in planning and implement-
ing energy efficiency activities. In some states, investor-
owned utilities are required by law to provide schools
with technical assistance in implementing energy
efficiency measures.
NEW YORK POWER AUTHORITY-POWER TO SCHOOLS
The New York Power Authority is a state-owned utility
that administers energy efficiency programs. Its Power
to Schools Program offers cost-effective energy
efficiency opportunities to public and private schools
throughout New York. The utility allows energy efficiency
improvements to be paid from energy savings, which
enables schools to finance projects they might otherwise
not be able to afford.
The Williamsville Central School District has worked with
the utility to implement $8.7 million in energy efficiency
improvements to its 13 facilities. When completed, the
improvements will include a range of energy efficiency
measures, including lighting retrofits, boiler replacements,
installation of energy management systems, and
automated swimming pool covers. The cost of these
improvements will be paid through energy cost savings
over several years.
Source: U.S. EPA, 2007d.
The California Energy Commission's Bright
Schools Program works with Pacific Gas
Edison, an electric utility, and DOE's Rebuild
America Program to administer the School
Resource Program, which provides energy
efficiency audits, technical assistance with retrofit
plans, and staff training to schools (PGE, 2007).
Municipally owned utilities in other localities can be
sources of information on energy efficiency for school
districts, and can often be relied on for technical assis-
tance on energy efficiency projects.
1 State and federal agencies. Many state governments
provide financial and technical assistance to school
districts. In Pennsylvania, for example, the public
school code directs the state to provide grants to school
districts that achieve LEED Silver certification (GGGC,
Undated). State energy offices can be another helpful
source of information on energy-efficiency technical
and financial assistance opportunities. Federal agen-
cies such as DOE and EPA provide assistance and
resources for energy efficiency activities in K-12 school
buildings. A number of K-12 school districts have part-
nered with EPA and ENERGY STAR, which provides
guidelines and tools for energy management district-
wide and energy-efficient new school design, energy
management training, and recognition opportunities
for improvement and top performance.
1 Energy efficiency service and product providers.
Many school districts work with energy efficiency
service and product providers to obtain technical
assistance and guidance for energy efficiency projects.
Many of these service and product providers offer
continuous energy monitoring for school districts,
which can help sustain the cost-savings benefits of
energy efficiency improvements. Many providers have
become ENERGY STAR Partners (for more informa-
tion, see http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfmfc =
spp_res.pt_spps).
The Blue Mountain School District in
Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania, has implemented
a range of energy efficiency projects through
an ENERGY STAR service provider that have led
to cumulative energy cost savings of $850,000
since 2005, preventing emission of 3,300 tons of
CO2, equivalent to the annual emissions of about
550 cars or the carbon storage capacity of more
than 500,000 healthy adult trees.10 The service
10 The average healthy tree in the United States stores 13 Ibs of carbon. From
Identified Benefits of Urban Trees and Forests, by R.D. Coder, University of
Georgia. Available at http://www.marshalltrees.com/upload/articlesjiles/
art_31attached_file.pdf.
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4. KEY PARTICIPANTS
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provider works directly with the energy managers
and maintenance teams in each school district
building (U.S. EPA, 2008f).
5. FOUNDATIONS FOR
PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
Local governments have employed a variety of mecha-
nisms to initiate programs for improving energy effi-
ciency in K-12 school buildings. This section provides
information on a range of these mechanisms, including
descriptions and examples of how key participants
have used different types of mechanisms to motivate
development of energy efficiency programs and
policies.
1 Individual school initiatives. Some schools adopt low-
cost energy efficiency and conservation measures, such
as campaigns to turn off lights and computers when
not in use, which do not require additional funds from
the school district. These simple efforts can produce
significant benefits and may lead to broader, district-
wide activities.
1 School district resolutions. Entire school districts
have implemented energy efficiency measures in
response to resolutions that require new or existing
facilities to adhere to specified design or performance
standards, such as ENERGY STAR, LEED, and CHPS.
Many school districts have developed their own
guidelines for energy and environmental design in
school buildings. In California, for example, 19 school
districts have adopted resolutions committing to the
new school design guidelines laid out by CHPS [CHPS,
Undated(b)].
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS SCHOOL DISTRICT-ENERGY
SAVINGS POLICY
In Minnesota, the Columbia Heights School District school
board adopted an energy savings policy to guide energy-
related decision-making in its five schools. The policy sets
standards for lighting, temperature control, ventilation,
scheduling, computer and office equipment use, kitchens,
swimming pools, and water use. It has helped the
district earn recognition as an ENERGY STAR Leader, an
achievement that only four other school districts in the
nation earned in 2006.
Source: Columbia Heights School District, 2006a
The school board in Council Rock School
District in Newtown, Pennsylvania, which
serves more than 12,000 students in 17 facili-
ties, adopted an energy policy in November 2005
that initiated an energy efficiency program. The
policy's initial goal was for the school district to
improve energy efficiency across its portfolio of
buildings by 10-15 percent. By implementing a
comprehensive retrocommissioning and energy
efficiency improvement program that included
operational adjustments, staff training sessions,
system upgrades, and purchasing energy-efficient
equipment, the school district was able to achieve
a 30 percent improvement in energy efficiency
portfolio-wide by the end of 2007 (U.S. EPA,
2008J). As a result, the district has been recognized
by EPA as an ENERGY STAR Leader.
1 School district planning process. A number of school
districts around the country have developed long-
range plans for renovating existing school buildings
and developing new ones. Some school districts have
incorporated energy efficiency goals into their plans.
1 Mayor or county executive initiatives. Local govern-
ment executives have been the catalysts for improving
energy efficiency in school buildings in their commu-
nities. Mayors and county executives have used the
visibility of their offices to encourage school districts
to improve energy efficiency, often through executive
orders or other proclamations.
In October 2007, the county executive of
Prince George's County, Maryland, issued an
executive order that directed the Green
Building Executive Steering Committee to develop
guidelines for county government to reduce ener-
gy consumption in existing facilities by 20 percent
by 2015, and to design and construct all new facili-
ties and public schools to meet LEED Silver certifi-
cation (Prince George's County, 2007).
Local government resolutions. City and county coun-
cils have been influential in initiating energy efficiency
programs in school buildings in many localities. In
some localities, the city or county council has passed
legislation requiring school buildings to be constructed
to meet specific energy and environmental standards.
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In 2006 the Washington, DC, city council
passed legislation requiring all publicly
owned and publicly financed buildings,
including schools, to be designed to meet LEED
Silver certification standards for environmental
performance. To ensure these buildings achieve
optimal energy performance, the legislation
includes a requirement that buildings also be
designated "Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR"
by Target Finder, and to be benchmarked annually
using Portfolio Manager. To ensure compliance
with these requirements, the legislation mandates
reviews by a government agency or certified third
party. The green building program is guided by a
Green Building Advisory Committee (Washing-
ton, DC, 2006).
1 Local government programs. Some school districts
have implemented energy efficiency activities as part
of broader community efforts coordinated by local
governments.
In Louisville, Kentucky, the Jefferson County
School District joined with the Louisville
Metro Government and University of Louis-
ville to form the Partnership for a Green City to
encourage broader adoption of environmentally
responsible practices throughout the community.
The partnership's Energy Committee develops
strategies for incorporating energy efficiency
activities into partnership projects (Louisville,
2007). More than 150 schools in the district have
also joined the Louisville Kilowatt Crackdown, a
year-long competition sponsored by the Louisville
Metro Government and local commercial real
estate associations to promote and recognize
building energy efficiency. Participants measured
and tracked their buildings' energy performance
using Portfolio Manager and worked to improve
performance during the contest period of July
2008-July 2009 (U.S. EPA, 2009f).
State programs. Some states, such as Connecticut
and North Carolina, have established requirements
for school districts to achieve certain energy efficiency
performance goals or follow statewide design guide-
lines (Connecticut, 2006; North Carolina, 2004).
6. STRATEGIES FOR
EFFECTIVE PROGRAM
IMPLEMENTATION
There are numerous opportunities for school districts
to promote energy efficiency in their buildings. Howev-
er, there are many barriers that could hinder effective
implementation of energy efficiency programs, such
as a lack of expertise, funding, or local government
support. These types of barriers and others can be
overcome through various strategies.
1 Engage management. Emphasizing the benefits of
energy efficiency through life-cycle cost analysis, build-
ing an experienced team, and creating a well-defined
energy policy or plan can help school districts secure
support from elected officials and local government
agency managers.
1 Obtain adequate information. There are a number of
federal, state, and nongovernmental resources avail-
able that can help school districts implement energy
efficiency initiatives and inform the program develop-
ment process. For a list of relevant resources and local
government case studies, refer to Section 10, Additional
Examples and Information Resources.
1 Utilize measurement tools and methodologies.
Setting up an energy efficiency program can be daunt-
ing, especially for school districts that may not possess
extensive in-house expertise on energy management.
Using effective measurement tools and methodologies
can help facilitate the program development process.
ENERGY STAR offers many resources that can help
measure progress, including Portfolio Manager for
buildings, which allows building managers to track
upgrades and resulting energy savings.
1 Pursue creative financing options. School districts
often face tight budgetary constraints that can make it
difficult to find funding for the upfront costs of energy
efficiency projects. However, many creative financing
options exist that can help school districts leverage
their available funds, such as energy performance
contracts and lease-purchase agreements (National
Action Plan for Energy Efficiency, 2008). Strategies
to help overcome financial obstacles are discussed in
Section 7, Investment and Financing Opportunities.
1 Develop political consensus. Local government deci-
sions are often subject to consensus and therefore can
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6. STRATEGIES
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run into barriers brought on by differing opinions or
political perspectives. For school districts, this process
can prolong development or adoption of an energy
efficiency program. By incorporating energy efficiency
goals into preexisting related initiatives, school districts
can avoid some of the difficulties associated with build-
ing political consensus.
Once a school district has initiated a program for
improving energy efficiency in its school buildings (see
Section 5, Foundations for Program Development), it
can use various implementation strategies to strength-
en the program and address the barriers identified
above. These strategies can serve two purposes:
• Developing the energy efficiency program to
enhance its effectiveness
• Engaging the community to leverage additional
resources and increase program visibility
Strategies for Developing an
Energy Efficiency Program
Strategies that school districts have used to develop
their energy efficiency programs are similar to those
involved in planning and designing the program (see
Section 3, Planning and Design Approaches to Energy
Efficiency in K-12 Schools). However, the implementa-
tion strategies described in this section can be used
after the program has been initiated to continue to
enhance its benefits. For example, when planning and
designing energy efficiency improvements in school
buildings, it is important to use a team approach
to develop an energy policy and create an action
plan. Similarly, when implementing the program for
improving energy efficiency in school buildings, it is
important to use a team approach to guide continual
development, refinement, and successful execution of
the program.
1 Continue to use a team approach to continually
improve the energy efficiency program. Just as build-
ing a team of individuals with diverse areas of expertise
can be a key initial step in developing an energy
efficiency program (see Step 1: Make Commitments,
in Section 3), continuing to use a team approach is
critical for implementing and continually developing
a successful energy efficiency program. Many school
districts have established scoping teams, or energy effi-
ciency advisory committees, to guide decisionmaking
related to existing energy efficiency programs. These
committees can help to continuously identify new ways
to improve the program's effectiveness.
When the Bainbridge Island School District
in Washington began planning its new Sakai
Intermediate 5th and 6th grade-level school
in 1997, it appointed a program planning team
composed of teachers and administrative staff to
work with the project manager and architects. The
team was responsible for ensuring the design
team's plans were consistent with the school's
curriculum and goals (PPRC, 2004).
Establishing a team of administrators, faculty, and
students that can take on additional responsibility
for ensuring energy efficient measures, especially
O&M practices, are sustained, can be a good way to
educate students while ensuring continued energy
performance.
In Elma, New York, students from the Iroquois Green
Schools team at Iroquois High School prepared class
plans and developed educational materials to demon-
strate energy conservation concepts and benefits to
elementary school students throughout the school
district (ASE, 2002).
1 Adapt activities to unique school priorities and
curricula. Tailoring energy efficiency measures to a
school's particular needs and resources can help incor-
porate energy efficiency into a school's culture.
When the Poudre School District in Fort
Collins, Colorado, decided to build a new
Fossil Ridge High School, its primary goal
was to build the healthiest and most comfortable
school possible to provide its students with a supe-
rior learning environment. A secondary goal was
to make the school a teaching tool for environ-
mental stewardship at no added cost. The building,
completed in 2005, received LEED Silver certifica-
tion and has earned the ENERGY STAR label for
top energy performance each year from 2005 to
2008 (U.S. GBC, 2006; U.S. EPA, 2009c).
1 Combine low-cost energy efficiency measures with
higher cost measures. Combining energy efficiency
measures that have lower implementation costs with
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measures that have higher costs can allow school
districts to use savings from the lower cost measures
to offset the costs of the more extensive measures,
thus shortening the overall payback period. A shorter
payback period can make energy efficiency improve-
ments more palatable to school district officials and the
public, whose tax dollars are at stake (U.S. EPA, 2008).
1 Train facilities maintenance staff. Training for facili-
ties maintenance staff is an important component of
a comprehensive energy efficiency upgrade because
it helps ensure that the benefits of the upgrades
are sustained. Training can cover a range of topics,
including equipment warranties and maintenance,
operational schedules, emergency procedures, and
air quality and comfort issues. Some school districts
have incorporated training sessions for facility staff in
performance contracts with ESCOs (U.S. EPA, 2008).
1 Use a district-wide shared savings approach. Many
school districts employ a shared-savings approach
that allows schools to retain a certain percentage of
their energy savings from behavioral and operational
changes. This approach often leads to increased buy-in
from individual schools and can result in greater over-
all savings.
Schools in Wake County, North Carolina,
retain 10 percent of the annual energy
savings they accrue. The increased buy-in
produced by this shared-savings approach,
combined with training sessions for faculty, staff,
and students, has resulted in energy cost savings
reaching nearly $600,000 per year (U.S. EPA,
2008).
Recognize students. School districts can encourage
student buy-in for energy efficiency programs by
recognizing students who contribute significantly
to their school's activities. Increased recognition of
student contributions can lead to more widespread
awareness of a school's efforts, stronger appreciation for
the benefits of energy efficiency, and more increased
dedication to improving school energy performance.
The Council Rock School District in
Newtown, Pennsylvania, which serves more
than 12,000 students, has reduced its energy
costs by a total of $2.5 million since becoming an
ENERGY STAR Partner in 2006. The school
district has also been engaging students to increase
their awareness and encouraging them to partake
in its efforts. The school district established a
scholarship fund for middle and high school
students to reward students who contribute to
energy efficiency projects (U.S. EPA, 2008J).
1 Integrate energy efficiency and clean energy supply
objectives. Many school districts are relying on renew-
able energy sources, in particular solar and geothermal,
to meet energy loads that have been reduced using a
variety of energy efficiency measures. Geothermal heat
pumps, which capture heat from beneath the earth's
surface, can use 25-50 percent less energy than tradi-
tional heating and cooling systems. Reducing energy
consumption prior to installing renewable energy
generation systems can significantly reduce the size,
and thus the cost, of the generation system. In addi-
tion, energy cost savings produced by the energy effi-
ciency measures can offset a portion of the cost of the
generation system, thus reducing its payback period
(U.S. EPA, 2008).
When the Great Seneca Creek Elementary
1[I| f School in Germantown, Maryland, was built,
I—I designers incorporated energy efficiency
measures, including a cool roof, to enable the
school to use a smaller geothermal system to meet
its reduced energy load (Montgomery County,
2007).
Fairview Elementary School in Normal,
Illinois, an ENERGY STAR labeled building,
serves students in preschool through fifth
grade. In 2007 school officials decided to replace
the aging boiler system with a ground-source
(geothermal) system. The unique one-pipe
geothermal design was promised to be as energy
efficient as the former three-boiler system, while
also providing air conditioning. The performance
of the geothermal system has far exceeded expecta-
tions, and the school has realized considerably
greater savings than originally promised. The
increased comfort for students and staff has also
resulted in a much better learning environment
(U.S. EPA, 2009d).
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6. STRATEGIES
27
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School districts can also compliment their energy
efficiency efforts by making green power purchases
for their facilities. See EPAs Green Power Procurement
guide in the Local Government Climate and Energy
Strategy Series for more information.
Strategies for Engaging the
Community
School districts have also used implementation strate-
gies that engage the community and other potential
partners to help improve energy efficiency in schools.
These strategies can help school districts leverage
additional resources and increase the visibility of their
energy efficiency programs.
1 Work with the community. Creating partnerships
with other schools, local governments, and businesses
and residents can enhance the benefits of energy
efficiency improvements in K-12 school buildings by
sharing information and experience, and by increasing
public awareness.
To help facilitate these partnerships, EPA has
developed a Web site that provides information on
how school districts, local governments, and other
organizations can leverage community resources to
support energy efficiency programs and promote
energy efficiency (see http://www.energystar.gov/index.
cfm?fuseaction=challenge_commumty.showlntroduc-
tion). The Web site outlines a five-step process for
engaging the community. It also provides examples
and information resources, including a factsheet on
examples of community-wide ENERGY STAR events
and key strategies for working with different types of
groups within the community (U.S. EPA, 2008w).
Willmar School District in Willmar, Minne-
sota, is a participant in the Schools for Ener-
gy Efficiency program, a public-private
initiative that works with school districts across
the state to improve energy efficiency and educate
students about the benefits of reducing energy
consumption. In 2006 students from Willmar
Junior High School, while raising funds to
purchase solar panels for their school, canvassed
the neighborhood to collect contributions and
inform residents about the school's energy efficien-
cy activities (SEE, 2006b).
In addition, many school districts are communicating
the benefits of their energy efficiency programs to the
community. These communications come in various
forms, including updates on school district Web sites,
newsletters, and community briefings.
Inspire buy-in through competition. Some school
districts have found that competitions with other
school districts to achieve the greatest energy
consumption reduction can be a low-cost strategy for
encouraging energy-efficient behavior.
Nearly 80 schools entered the 2007 Minne-
sota Energy Challenge, which encourages
students from schools throughout the state
to conserve energy to reduce CO2 emissions
(Minnesota Energy Challenge, 2007). As of early
2009,129 schools had enrolled in the challenge.
The program estimates that conservation efforts
associated with the challenge are responsible for
almost 74,000 fewer tons of CO2 emissions annu-
ally, equivalent to the annual emissions of more
than 12,000 cars (Minnesota Energy Challenge,
2009).
Another method for inspiring buy-in is to chal-
lenge students and teachers to meet a specific energy
consumption reduction goal.
S*L Many schools and school districts, such as
Kenton County School District in Kentucky,
have joined the ENERGY STAR Challenge,
which sets a goal for school districts to reduce
energy consumption by 10 percent (Kenton Coun-
ty, 2007). Two schools in the district are now
ENERGY STAR labeled buildings. One of the
schools, Caywood Elementary, built in 2005,
incorporates daylighting and geothermal heating/
cooling into its design scheme and saves approxi-
mately $45,000 annually in energy costs (Kentucky
Department of Energy Development and Indepen-
dence, 2009).
Participate in national campaigns. Many school
districts have joined national campaigns to reduce
energy consumption and improve environmental
profiles in schools. Joining national campaigns can
help school districts leverage information and financial
resources. For example, the Alliance to Save Energy's
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Green Schools program helps school districts access
resources for improving energy efficiency in their
facilities, and works with them to join the ENERGY
STAR Challenge (ASE, 2008).
In 2005 the Maize Unified School District in
Maize, Kansas, committed to improve energy
efficiency across its portfolio of eight build-
ings by 10 percent through the ENERGY STAR
Challenge. Since then the district has improved its
energy efficiency by 16 percent, saving a cumula-
tive $340,000 and reducing GHG emissions by
5,500 tons annually, equivalent to the carbon stor-
age capacity of more than 840,000 healthy trees
(U.S. EPA, 2008g).
7 INVESTMENT AND
FINANCING OPPORTUNITIES
This section provides information on the size and
payback periods associated with upfront investments
in energy efficiency improvements in school buildings.
It also identifies several financing opportunities that
can help school districts manage the costs of these
investments.
Investment
Improving energy efficiency in school buildings is an
investment that earns a return over time. The size and
payback period (length of time required to recoup
upfront costs) of this investment varies depending on
the extent of the upgrade and the resources required.
Many significant improvements can be made with
little or no upfront cost. While some energy efficiency
improvements require substantial upfront investment,
the costs can often be quickly recovered. Life-cycle cost
analysis, which measures the lifetime costs of design
and construction, maintenance and replacement, and
other impacts, reveals the cost effectiveness of energy
efficiency upgrades. For more information on life-
cycle cost analysis, see Section 3, Planning and Design
Approaches to Energy Efficiency in K-12 Schools.
The short payback periods associated with some
components of a comprehensive energy efficiency
upgrade can help reduce the overall payback period for
the entire project. For example, the third stage of the
approach for upgrading facilities, described in Section
3, involves reducing supplemental loads by purchasing
energy-efficient products. Purchasing these products,
which typically have short payback periods, can gener-
ate significant energy cost savings that can shorten the
payback period for the building upgrade as a whole.
TABLE 3. ENERGY STAR SPECIFICATION OVERVIEWS: ENERGY SAVINGS AND PAYBACK PERIODS3
P^C-^
Appliances
Dehumidifiers
Commercial Food Service
Commercial dishwashers
Commercial griddles
Commercial hot food holding cabinets
Commercial ovens
Commercial refrigerators & freezers-
glass door
Commercial refrigerators & freezers-
solid door
Percent Energy Savings
Compared to Conventional
Product
15%
30%
10%
65%
30% (gas)
15% (electric)
30%
35%
0 years (typically no retail cost premium)
2 years (for typical unit)
<5 years
<5 years
0 years (no premium for gas)
<5 years (electric)
2-5 years
(preliminary assessment)
<2 years
(preliminary assessment)
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TABLE 3. ENERGY STAR SPECIFICATION OVERVIEWS: ENERGY SAVINGS AND PAYBACK PERIODSA (cont)
Product Category Compared 1
Pr
Commercial steam cookers 50% (elect
35% (gas)
"""" *^™
'ic) <2 years
Electronics
Televisions 15%
0 years (typically no retail cost premium)
Envelope
Roof products NA
0 years (typically no retail cost premium)
Heating and Cooling
Air source heat pumps 10%
Boilers 5%
Varies Regionally
< 5 years
Ceiling fans 45% (with light kit) <4 years
10% (fan only)
Furnaces 15% (gas)
8% (oil)
Geothermal heat pumps 30%
Light commercial HVAC 5%
Ventilating fans 70%
< 5 years
Varies Regionally
Varies Regionally
0 years (typically no retail cost premium)
Office Products
Computers 30%
Copiers 10%
Monitors 20%
0 years (typically no retail cost premium)
0 years (typically no retail cost premium)
0 years (typically no retail cost premium)
Multifunction devices 15-30% (laser v. inkjet) 0 years (typically no retail cost premium)
Printers, fax machines, and mailing 10%
machines
Scanners 10%
Servers 30%
0 years (typically no retail cost premium)
0 years (typically no retail cost premium)
0 years (typically no retail cost premium)
Other
Vending machines July 2007
0 years (typically no retail cost premium)
a ENERGY STAR develops performance-based specifications to determine the most energy-efficient products in a particular product
category. These specifications, which are used as the basis for ENERGY STAR qualification, are developed using a systematic process that
relies on market, engineering, and pollution savings research and input from industry stakeholders. Specifications are revised periodically
to be more stringent, which has the effect of increasing overall market energy efficiency (U.S. EPA, 2007h). EPA and DOE screen all of the
specifications annually to determine if any require reassessment. These assessments may lead to a specification revision, a specification
being sunset, or no action being taken depending on market readiness for the next level. To view current ENERGY STAR criteria, please
visit http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=product_specs.pt_product_specs. To view specifications that are under review or revision,
please visit http://www.energystar.gov/index. cfm?c=prod_development.prod_development_index.
Source: U.S. DOE, 2009; U.S. EPA. 2009J.
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Similarly, behavioral adjustments, such as setting
thermostats at lower temperatures in the winter,
can often be implemented at no cost, yet produce
significant savings and reduce the payback period
of a comprehensive upgrade. Table 3, ENERGY
STAR Specification Overviews: Energy Savings and
Payback Periods, illustrates the payback periods for
a variety of energy-efficient products.
The cost premium of designing and construct-
ing high-performance school buildings is often
1-2 percent of the total construction cost of a
conventional school, though some high-perfor-
mance school buildings have been designed and
constructed at no additional cost. According to
one study, the average additional cost of designing
and constructing a high-performance school is
only $3 per square foot, or 1.7 percent of the cost
of construction for a conventional school building.
Because the cost premium for high-performance
buildings can be very low, the cost savings they
produce can result in life cycle savings as much as
eight times the original cost (Capital E, 2006). n
CHPS estimates that the initial cost of complying
with its design criteria is approximately $2 per
square foot, which in many cases can be offset
by a 20 percent energy cost savings, as indicated
11 The average school building construction cost is approximately $150
tier sauare foot (Catital E. 2006).
in Figure 3, Initial Costs and Payback Periods for
Compliance with CHPS Criteria.
Financing
Upfront costs can present a barrier to improving
energy efficiency in school buildings. However,
delaying cost-effective energy efficiency improve-
ments can also be costly; an activity not under-
taken can result in increased operating costs
(Zobler and Hatcher, 2008). [As described on page
22 in Section 3, Planning and Design Approaches
to Energy Efficiency in K-12 Schools, school
districts can use the ENERGY STAR Cash Flow
Opportunity Calculator to help make decisions
about the most effective timing of energy-efficient
product purchases (U.S. EPA, 2003b)]. This section
describes a variety of financing vehicles and fund-
ing sources that school districts can access to
address financial barriers.
FINANCIAL VEHICLES
Financing refers to accessing new funds through
loans, bonds, energy performance contracts, lease-
purchase agreements, and grants to pay for energy
efficiency upgrades. Financial vehicles can access
the sources of funding described in the subsequent
section to obtain the capital for energy efficiency
FIGURE 3. INITIAL COSTS AND PAYBACK PERIODS FOR COMPLIANCE WITH CHPS CRITERIA
This figure demonstrates how energy cost savings can offset the initial costs of compliance with CHPS high-performance
school design criteria. For a 7th and 8th grade school, for example, an initial cost of $1.90 per square foot, which includes
both hard costs (i.e., material and labor costs for design, construction, implementation, and O&M) and soft costs (e.g., fees for
design, documentation, commissioning, and consulting), can be offset by annual energy cost savings of $0.32 over 5.9 years.
School Type
K-6
7-8
9-12
Hard
Costs
(per ft2)
$0.65
$0.65
$0.65
Soft
Costs
(per ft2)
$1.10
$1.25
$1.40
Total Initial
Costs
(per ft2)
$1.75
$1.90
$2.05
Annual Energy Annual Energy
Costs for Costs for
Noncompliant Compliant
Designs (per ft2) Designs (per ft2)
$1.31 $1.05
$1.61 $1.29
$1.75 $1.40
20% Annual
Energy Cost
Savings
(per ft2)
$0.26
$0.32
$0.35
Simple Payback
Period
6. 7 years
5. 9 years
5.9 years
Source: Hawaii DBEDT, 2005.
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7. INVESTMENT
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upgrades. Financial vehicles that school districts use to
finance energy efficiency improvements include:
Energy performance contracts. An energy perfor-
mance contract is an arrangement with an ESCO or
energy service provider (ESP) that allows a school
district to finance energy-saving capital improve-
ments—usually over a 7-15 year term—with no initial
capital investment by using money saved through
reduced utility expenditures. Contracts bundle energy-
saving investments (e.g., energy audits, design and
specification of new equipment, ongoing maintenance,
measurement and verification of product performance,
indoor air quality management, and personnel train-
ing) and typically offer financing (Zobler and Hatcher,
2008).
An ESCO often provides a guarantee that energy cost
savings will meet or exceed annual payments covering
all activity costs. Such guaranteed savings agreements
are the most common type of performance contract
in the public sector.12 If the savings do not occur, the
ESCO pays the difference. Some performance contracts
include a reserve fund to cover potential shortfalls,
while others provide security enhancements in the
form of performance bonds or letters of credit. In some
instances, performance insurance may be available
(Zobler and Hatcher, 2008).
MONTICELLO HIGH SCHOOL
In Illinois, Monticello High School entered into a
performance contract agreement in 1994 with Johnson
Controls to install a number of energy efficiency
upgrades, including lighting retrofits, boiler and window
replacements, and a new roof. Through the agreement,
the school district was able to use guaranteed energy
and operational savings over 10 years to pay off the
$3.86 million cost of the project. The energy efficiency
investment has resulted in annual energy cost savings of
30-40%, and has earned the building the ENERGY STAR
label.
Source: U.S. EPA, 2008t.
ESCOs often offer financing as part of performance
contracts. However, because ESCOs are private sector
firms that typically borrow at taxable, commercial
12 Another type of agreement is an own-operate agreement, in which the
ESCO maintains ownership of the facility, and sells back its output to the state
entity.
rates, it is often possible for a public sector entity to
secure better financing arrangements by taking advan-
tage of lower, tax-exempt interest rates available to
government entities (U.S. EPA, 2004).
1 Lease-purchase agreements. A tax-exempt lease-
purchase agreement (also known as a municipal lease)
allows public entities to finance purchases and instal-
lation over long-term periods using operating budget
dollars rather than capital budget dollars.
Agreements typically include "nonappropriation"
language that limits obligations to the current operat-
ing budget period. If a local government decides not
to appropriate funds for any year throughout the term,
the equipment is returned to the lessor and the agree-
ment is terminated. Because of this nonappropriation
language, lease-purchase agreements typically do not
constitute debt. Under this type of agreement, a local
government makes monthly payments to a lessor
(often a financial institution) and assumes ownership
of the equipment at the end of the lease term, which
commonly extends no further than the expected life
of the equipment. These payments, which are often
less than or equal to the anticipated savings produced
by the energy efficiency improvements, include added
interest. The interest rates that a local government
pays under these agreements are typically lower than
the rates under a common lease agreement because
a public entity's payments on interest are exempt
from federal income tax, meaning the lessor can offer
reduced rates (U.S. EPA, 2004).
TAX-EXEMPT LEASE PURCHASE AGREEMENTS
AND ENERGY PERFORMANCE CONTRACTING
Florida's Miami-Dade County Public Schools district
financed energy-efficient equipment installations in its
facilities at reduced cost by adding guaranteed energy
savings performance contracts with three ESCOs to an
existing tax-exempt master lease-purchase agreement
rather than financing the projects directly through the
ESCOs. Through the master agreement, the school
district has invested $9.5 million in energy efficiency. The
investment produced savings of $3.5 million in just 3 years.
Sources: U.S. EPA, 2003c; U.S. EPA, 2004.
Unlike bonds, initiating a tax-exempt lease-purchase
agreement does not require a voter referendum to
approve debt, a process that can delay energy efficiency
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7. INVESTMENT
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improvements. Tax-exempt lease-purchase agreements
typically require only internal approval and an attor-
ney's letter, which often takes only 1 week (as opposed
to months or years for bonds). Local governments can
expedite the process by adding energy efficiency proj-
ects to existing tax-exempt lease-purchase agreements.
Many local governments have master lease-purchase
agreements in place to finance a range of capital invest-
ment projects. Energy-efficient product procurement
can often be added to these agreements without diffi-
culty (U.S. EPA, 2004b).
In addition, many local governments have found that
interest rates available through tax-exempt lease-
purchase agreements typically are lower than rates
offered by an ESCO. The lease-purchase agreements
can be especially effective when used to underwrite
energy performance contracts that include guaranteed
savings agreements, under which an ESCO agrees
to reimburse any shortfalls in expected energy cost
savings.
The Aiken County Public Schools in Aiken,
South Carolina, for example, used a $3.5
million performance contract to make many
energy efficiency upgrades, including improved
temperature and humidity controls and light levels
as well as new cooling equipment that meets EPA
standards for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). These
measures have reduced the Aiken County Schools'
energy consumption by 12%, saving the district
$320,000 per year. Because the investment was
paid for with energy savings, the upgrades were
made without additional tax dollars (Johnson
Controls, Undated).
1 Loans, rebates, other assistance. Some states have
loan programs to help school districts finance energy
efficiency activities. These programs often provide
financial assistance via low-interest loans that can be
paid off using energy cost savings. In addition, many
school districts have used rebates or other financial
assistance from utilities to offset the cost of improving
energy efficiency in their facilities. The Database of
State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency provides
information on state government and utility incentives
available to school districts in each state (http://www.
dsireusa.org/).
FUNDING SOURCES
Numerous funding sources can support school district
energy efficiency programs, including public benefits
funds (PBF), state governments, and utility assistance
programs. These sources can be accessed through the
financial vehicles described above to provide capital for
energy efficiency upgrades (Zobler and Hatcher, 2008).
For example, a revolving loan fund or state-run PBF
can provide funding to a school district via a financial
vehicle such as a loan or grant. This section describes
how school districts have used different funding
sources.
Energy cost savings. Many school districts have used
energy cost savings from low-cost energy efficiency
measures to offset the costs of larger energy efficiency
upgrades, such as HVAC system replacements. Schools
that invest in energy efficiency or improve their energy
management can develop agreements with their
districts to have a percentage of cost savings from those
improvements returned to a school for reinvestment
in additional energy efficiency measures (Zobler and
Hatcher, 2008).
State government programs. Some states administer
programs that fund school district energy efficiency
upgrades. For example, Massachusetts reimburses up
to 2 percent of the total project costs for school build-
ings that earn certification as Massachusetts High-
Performance Green Schools (MTC, 2007a).13 Similarly,
New Hampshire provides a 3 percent incremental
reimbursement for school buildings that meet high-
performance guidelines (NEEP, 2007b).
In 2008 the Maryland legislature passed a bill
mandating that beginning in July 2008,
schools built using state funds must meet
LEED Silver standards. To help school districts
meet this new requirement, the state has agreed to
pay for 50 percent of the premium associated with
designing and constructing schools to meet the
standards through FY 2014 (Maryland, 2008).
13 Certification is contingent on evaluation and scoring by the Massachusetts
CHPS Certification Review Committee. School buildings that earn high
scores are certified as Massachusetts High-Performance Green Schools (MTC,
2007c).
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7. INVESTMENT
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MUNICIPAL ENERGY FUND
The Ann Arbor, Michigan, Municipal Energy Fund is an
excellent example of how energy efficiency can pay for
itself in the long term. The fund started with an initial
payment of $100,000 per year over 5 years, capturing 80
percent of the resulting savings for reinvestment back into
new energy saving projects. As these new projects grow,
their energy and cost savings increase. By year 5, future
investment is based solely on payment of past projects to
finance new ones. Annual cost savings enabled by the fund
total $142,000 across 60 facilities.
Sources: Ann Arbor, 2007; C40 Cities, 2008.
' Increases in state funding. School district funds are
often allocated by state governments based on a specif-
ic formula. This formula is determined by multiple
factors, including a school district's attendance rate.
Energy efficiency upgrades that improve indoor air
quality can help a school district improve attendance,
thus earning it more state funds.
1 Capital budgets and operating budgets. Using capital
or operating budget funds has many advantages: Fund-
ing is already on hand, there is no need to negotiate
financing arrangements, and there are no interest
payments. Using life-cycle cost accounting to quantify
the lower net capital and future operating costs can
help school districts improve chances of incorporating
energy efficiency into their limited capital budgets
(Zobler and Hatcher, 2008).
School districts can use a "paid from savings" approach
to fund purchases of energy-efficient products that
have cost premiums by reserving energy cost savings
generated from their energy efficiency activities to pay
for energy-efficient products.
1 Utility assistance. Some utilities offer financial assis-
tance to school districts for energy efficiency projects.
Some states provide school districts with information
on how to access utility assistance programs. For
example, New Hampshire maintains information on
energy efficiency programs run by state utilities (New
Hampshire Public Utilities Commission, Undated).
> Incentives. The Washoe County School District
in Reno, Nevada, received a $103,119 incentive
payment from the Sierra Pacific Power Company
to perform energy efficiency upgrades in 10 school
buildings, a project expected to reduce the school
district's electricity use by nearly 2 million kWh
annually, preventing emission of 1,520 tons of
CO2.14 (Washoe County School District, 2007).
> Public benefits funds. Some states, such as Cali-
fornia and Oregon, require utilities to provide
energy efficiency assistance through PBFs from
state-mandated system benefits charges that they
collect from customers (Oregon, Undated). For
example, Southern California Edison, an electric
utility, used PBFs when it partnered with the
Newport-Mesa Unified School District to design
a new energy-efficient elementary school. The
resulting design integrated all building systems and
optimized energy use while reducing the building's
environmental impacts (PPRC, 2004).
8. FEDERAL, STATE,
AND OTHER PROGRAM
RESOURCES
Many school districts work with federal, state, and
regional agencies and organizations when planning
and developing programs for improving energy
efficiency in their school buildings. These agencies
and organizations can provide school districts with
information resources and financial and technical
assistance, as described below.
Federal Programs
Federal programs that provide information and
assistance for improving energy efficiency targeted to
school districts include:
ENERGY STAR for K-12 School Districts. More than
400 school districts across the country have partnered
with ENERGY STAR to improve energy efficiency in
school buildings (see the Poudre School District exam-
ple in the text box below) (U.S. EPA, 2008d). ENERGY
STAR provides tools and information that help school
districts improve energy performance. Resources
include tools for measuring, tracking, and setting an
energy savings goal; online energy management train-
ing; communications kits; financing information; and
case studies of successful energy efficiency improve-
ments. In addition, EPA has developed a chapter that
14 In Nevada, the average emissions produced by electricity generation are
1.52 Ibs/kWh. From http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ee-factors.html
34
8. OTHER RESOURCES
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focuses exclusively on K-12 schools in its recent revi-
sion to the ENERGY STAR Building Upgrade Manual.
The chapter provides strategies and best practices for
improving energy efficiency in K-12 schools.
Web sites: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfmfc =
k!2 schools.bus schoolsk!2
POUDRE SCHOOL DISTRICT
The Poudre School District in Fort Collins, Colorado, used
ENERGY STAR'S Target Finder to set energy targets for its
Operations Building multiple times during the early stages
of the building design process. These early evaluations
allowed the design team to make adjustments to building
orientation, envelope, materials, internal systems, and
equipment. As the design process progressed, the team
was able to achieve consistent Target Finder energy scores
in the 80s.
The building was completed in May 2002, and after
accruing 12 months of energy use data, it earned the
ENERGY STAR label for achieving a score of 97, making it
the llth Poudre School District building to earn the label.
In addition, the district was named the 2003 ENERGY STAR
Partner of the Year for Leadership in Energy Management,
and in 2005 the building achieved a perfect score.
Source: U.S. EPA, 2007e.
• EnergySmart Schools. Through its EnergySmart
Schools program, DOE works with public and private
entities to improve energy efficiency in the nation's
new and existing K-12 school buildings. The program's
goals are for new school buildings to be designed to
be 50 percent more efficient than building energy
codes require, and for existing school buildings to
reduce energy consumption by 30 percent (U.S. DOE,
2007). The program has developed "how-to" guides
for planning, designing, financing, and operating
and maintaining energy-efficient school buildings. It
has also produced Energy Design Guidelines for High
Performance Schools, which provides technology ideas
for different climate zones across the country.
Web site: http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ener-
gysmartschools/index. html
• Healthy School Environments program. This EPA
program is a clearinghouse of resources on programs
and information on ensuring healthy environments
in school buildings. Through the program, school
districts can access the HealthySEAT tool, which
enables schools to manage self-assessment programs
for ensuring the health of students, faculty, and other
occupants. EPA's related Indoor Air Quality Tools for
Schools Program provides detailed guidance to help
schools adopt indoor air quality management prac-
tices that reduce student, teacher, and other occupant
exposure to indoor environmental contaminants. The
program's Action Kit has been used by hundreds of
schools across the country. The program also recog-
nizes schools that produce substantial improvements in
indoor air quality.
Web site: http://www.epa.gov/schools/
U.S. EPA State and Local Climate and Energy
Program. This program assists state, local, and tribal
governments in meeting their climate change and
clean energy efforts by providing technical assistance,
analytical tools, and outreach support. It includes two
programs:
• The Local Climate and Energy Program helps
local and tribal governments meet multiple
sustainability goals with cost-effective climate
change mitigation and clean energy strategies.
EPA provides local and tribal governments with
peer exchange training opportunities and financial
assistance along with planning, policy, technical,
and analytical information that support reduction
of greenhouse gas emissions.
• The State Climate and Energy Program helps
states develop policies and programs that can
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower energy
costs, improve air quality and public health, and
help achieve economic development goals. EPA
provides states with and advises them on proven,
cost-effective best practices, peer exchange oppor-
tunities, and analytical tools.
Web site: http://www.epa.gov/statelocalclimate/
U.S. DOE Energy Information Administration. The
National Energy Information Center publishes Energy
Education Resources: Kindergarten Through 12th
Grade, which gives educators access to no- and low-
cost energy-related educational materials.
Web site: http://www.eia.doe.gov/bookshelf/eer/kiddi-
etoc.html
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8. OTHER RESOURCES
35
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U.S. Department of Education. The Department
of Education administers Qualified Zone Academy
Bonds (QZAB) that can be used by school districts
or low-income populations to finance renovation
projects, equipment purchases, and training. The
program is designed to provide bond holders with tax
credits approximately equal to the interest that would
normally be paid.
Web site: http://www.ed.gov/programs/qualifiedzone/
index.html
State Programs
Many states have programs to assist school districts
in planning and designing high performance school
buildings. Some states, such as Massachusetts and New
York, have adopted the CHPS model, which originated
in California, and modified it to meet state their
criteria. Other states, such as Maine and Kentucky,
administer programs that provide financial and techni-
cal assistance to school districts.
The Maine Green Schools program, support-
ed by the Maine Department of Environmen-
tal Protection's Bureau of Air Quality and the
Maine Energy Education Program, provides tech-
nical assistance to school districts that want to
reduce energy costs and GHG emissions through
energy efficiency. The program helps districts
inventory GHG emissions and identify areas with
potential for energy savings. Different levels of
assistance are available depending on a district's
particular needs. The program Web site allows
district employees to download tools to get start-
ed; it also provides assistance for those that need
help to get going. With the help of the Green
Schools program, the Lewiston School District has
installed an advanced lighting system that saves up
to 50 percent in energy costs while reducing main-
tenance costs and increasing student and teacher
comfort. The system works by allowing individuals
to manually control lighting based on preference,
and can automatically adjust lighting levels based
on the natural light available (Maine Green
Schools, 2009).
COLORADO SCHOOL DISTRICT 16 USES QZABS
TO FUND ENERGY EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS
School District 16 in Garfield, Colorado, used a $2.5 million
allocation of the state's QZAB funds to implement energy
efficiency improvements to district buildings. Use of the
funds was predicated on the district's compliance with
a requirement that a partner be willing to pay an initial
10% of the borrowed amount. The district was able to
work with oil and gas industry representatives to secure
this guarantee. The QZAB funds enabled the district to
implement $2.5 million in energy efficiency improvements
at a cost of less than $900,000 to the district's general fund.
Source: Rebuild Colorado, 2007.
In New York, the state-owned New York
Power Authority assists public and private
schools in installing energy-efficient equip-
ment and systems through its Power to Schools
program (NYPA, 2007). The New York State Ener-
gy Research and Development Authority
(NYSERDA) is also funding grants and workshops
for energy efficiency education. Various school
districts have submitted proposals to NYSERDA
regarding their plans to reduce energy consump-
tion by 15 percent. (NYSERDA, 2009).
Other Programs
Some school districts are working with private orga-
nizations to promote energy-efficient design and
operation of K-12 school buildings. In response to
district demands for a comprehensive plan to reduce
energy costs, for example, a Minnesota mechanical
and electrical engineering firm created Schools for
Energy Efficiency (SEE), a program that partners with
ENERGY STAR to provide schools with customized
energy plans. The 14 school districts that have joined
the program achieve annual energy savings of 10-20
percent. This group includes 15 of the 47 districts in
the nation that have earned ENERGY STAR Leaders
awards for continuous improvement in energy effi-
ciency district-wide (SEE, 2007; U.S. EPA, 2009e).
Some national and state-specific nonprofit organiza-
tions are dedicated to integrating energy and envi-
ronmental education into classroom lessons. These
organizations, such as the National Energy Education
Development project (NEED), Project Learning Tree,
36
8. OTHER RESOURCES
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National Energy Foundation, and the Alliance to Save
Energy, are good sources of educational materials, and
may help school districts finance energy efficiency
improvements. NEED, for example, created a network
of partners that provides teachers with resources to
promote understanding of the implications of energy
use and conservation (NEED, 2007; PLT, 2009; ASE,
2008).
9. CASE STUDIES
The following case studies describe two school districts'
comprehensive programs for improving energy effi-
ciency in K-12 school buildings.
Colorado Springs School
District 11—Colorado Springs,
Colorado
District Us Resource Conservation Management
program is a long-term energy management program
intended to reduce energy costs and improve the flex-
ibility of the district's operational budget. Since the
program's inception, the district has saved $6.5 million
on utility bills and decreased average energy consump-
tion per square foot by nearly 20 percent.
PROFILE: COLORADO SPRINGS DISTRICT 11
Area: 186 square miles
Population: 31,000 students, 3,500 employees
Structure: The school district is governed
by a school board and a board-appointed
superintendent. The Resource Conservation
Management Program is administered by the
district energy manager.
Program Scope: The Resource Conservation
Management Program covers the school district's
70 facilities, which encompass 4.2 million square
feet.
Program Creation: The program was initiated
in summer 1999 to reduce energy costs and
increase operational budget flexibility.
Program Results: $6.5 million in energy cost
savings for FY 1999-2006. Average energy
consumption per square foot was reduced from
92 kBtu to 75 kBtu.
PROGRAM INITIATION
District 11 initiated the Resource Conservation
Management program in summer 1999 to reduce ener-
gy costs and improve the flexibility of its operational
budget. The program requires active participation from
all district schools. In 2000 the district school board
adopted an energy conservation policy stating the
district's commitment to long-term sustainable energy
management and encouraging all district facilities
to participate in energy management programs. The
policy requires the district energy manager to work
with the Energy Advisory Committee to develop an
annual energy report to be presented to the school
board (Colorado Springs School District, 2000).
PROGRAM FEATURES
The District has achieved significant energy cost
savings by implementing a range of energy efficiency
measures, including:
Utility bill tracking database. In 1998 the district
created a utility accounting database using Microsoft
Office Access software. The database calculates avoided
costs and enables the district energy manager to
compare current consumption with the 1998-1999
baseline. When first employed, this database helped the
district immediately recognize nearly $100,000 in bill-
ing errors, resulting in a substantial refund.
Energy monitoring system. The district uses direct
digital building controls to monitor near real-time
energy consumption in its facilities. The tool helps the
energy manager to quickly spot and investigate any
anomalies, as well as analyze consumption for any time
period and project future consumption trends.
Energy performance contracting. The district uses
ESCOs to perform various energy efficiency retrofits.
Through 2005, the district used energy performance
contracting to perform $5 million in energy efficiency
upgrades that have produced $500,000 in guaranteed
annual savings. The contracts are self-funded through
energy cost savings, so there is no added tax burden on
the community.
Lighting retrofits. Through 2005, the district invested
approximately $2.7 million in lighting retrofits to 95
percent of its school buildings. These upgraded lighting
systems save 40-60 percent on energy consumption
and provide a superior quality of light.
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9. CASE STUDIES
37
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Energy savings incentives. The districts program
includes an incentive for individual schools in which a
percentage of energy cost savings are returned by the
district to a school. Through February 2007, the district
has returned nearly $500,000 directly to schools.
High-performance school design standards. The
district developed its own design standards that require
higher environmental standards for indoor air qual-
ity, comfort, natural lighting, and acoustics than code
currently requires. These standards also include an
energy performance requirement that facilities achieve
an annual energy consumption rating of 25 kBtu per
square foot. The district projects that strict adherence
to these guidelines will save it $12.7 million over the
life-cycle of a typical elementary school (Buildings,
2007; Colorado Springs School District, 2005b).
PROGRAM RESULTS
In FY 1999-2006, the district saved $6.5 million on
utility bills. According to the district's tracking data-
base, average energy consumption per square foot was
reduced from 91.9 kBtu in FY 1999 to 75 kBtu in FY
2006, with some school buildings as low as 45 kBtu.
The district has established a goal for all new facilities
to reduce energy consumption per square foot to 25
kBtu (Buildings, 2007).
Through 2005, seven of the district's buildings had
earned the ENERGY STAR label. In 2003 and 2004, the
district was named an ENERGY STAR Leader, and in
2005 it was named an ENERGY STAR for Excellence
in Energy Management Partner of the Year (Colorado
Springs School District, 2005a).
Web site: http://www.dll.org/fotc/energy/
Gresham-Barlow School District
—Multnomah County, Oregon
The school district's Resource Conservation Manage-
ment program is a comprehensive strategy for reducing
district energy costs and to allocate savings to instruc-
tion and student programming. By gaining support
from district staff and combining the common interests
of multiple stakeholders, this program has achieved
significant energy, economic, environmental, and
educational benefits.
PROGRAM INITIATION
The district formed a waste reduction committee, made
up of principals, teachers, custodians, parents, and
students, to oversee resource conservation efforts in its
20 school buildings in 1995. The committee provided
stakeholders with an opportunity to engage in dialogue
about cost-reducing and environmentally conscious
projects that could be implemented throughout the
district. Increased awareness of the cost implications
of wasted resources resulted in a district-wide focus on
modifying student and staff behavior to reduce waste.
In 1998 these waste reduction efforts began to
incorporate energy conservation, leading to the
hiring of an energy manager. The energy manager
used a utility tracking software program to analyze
the previous 4 years' energy consumption data and
monitor the district school buildings' energy usage.
The district then turned to the state Department of
Energy's Schools Team for guidance on establishing
the Resource Conservation Management program.
The district adopted a comprehensive energy policy
to invest in building infrastructure, energy-efficient
equipment, and energy management software (Oregon
DOE, 2005).
PROFILE: GRESHAM-BARLOW SCHOOL DISTRICT
Area: 54 square miles
Population: 12,150 students, 1,200 staff
Structure: The school district is governed by a
seven-member school board, which appoints
the superintendent. The Resource Conservation
Management Program is overseen by the
assistant director for facilities.
Program Scope: The Resource Conservation
Management Program is implemented across 20
school buildings.
Program Creation: The program was created
in 1998 when the district established an energy
policy and hired an assistant facilities manager to
oversee the program.
Program Results: Despite increases in student
enrollment and classroom space, the district has
reduced energy consumption by 46% from 1998
levels, resulting in a total energy cost savings of
$5.2 million through October 2006.
9. CASE STUDIES
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PROGRAM FEATURES
The Resource Conservation Management program
includes a number of features, such as:
1 Energy performance tracking. The district's ESCO,
Save More Resources, uses the ENERGY STAR
performance scores system to track the effectiveness of
energy efficiency activities in school facilities.
1 Broad-based support. The district's energy manager
has worked with the school superintendent, school
board members, teachers, and other staff to maintain
ongoing support for energy efficiency activities. The
energy manager meets monthly with the head custodi-
ans of each school to review problems and identify best
practices. This information is then presented to the
superintendent and school board.
1 Public-purpose charge funding. Oregon law requires
utilities to collect a public-purpose charge from
consumers. Ten percent of these charges must be
redistributed to consumers through energy efficiency
improvements in public schools within the utilities'
regions. The district receives approximately $180,000
annually through this fund.
1 Energy savings incentives. Individual schools can
earn incentives for energy efficiency behavior. The
incentives range from $1,000 for elementary schools to
$3,000 for high schools, and are awarded for exemplary
energy performance and participation by staff and
students.
1 Educational opportunities for students. Individual
schools are integrating energy efficiency into classroom
lessons in a variety of ways. The district's Center for
Advanced Learning initiated the Student-to-Energy
Tech program that involves high-performing students
in day-to-day management of the facility's energy and
water consumption. In one school, students pledged
to abide by energy-conserving principles of behavior
and are allowed to ticket peers and staff members who
are noncompliant with these principles (Helmke-Long,
2006). At a district elementary school, the head custo-
dian presented students and teachers with an overview
of how an energy audit is conducted and what data are
collected. The school achieved a subsequent 30 percent
reduction in energy consumption (Oregon DOE, 2005).
PROGRAM RESULTS
Despite increases in student enrollment and classroom
space, the district has reduced its energy consumption
by 46 percent from 1998 levels, resulting in total energy
cost savings of $5.2 million through October 2006.
The district's school buildings currently use about 40
percent less energy annually than the national average
for K-12 school buildings, which translates into GHG
emission reductions of 40 percent. The energy cost sav-
ings achieved during the 2004-2005 school year alone
were equivalent to 22 teaching position salaries (U.S.
EPA, 2008u; Oregon DOE, 2005; Helmke-Long, 2006).
The district was recognized as an ENERGY STAR
Leader in 2005, and in 2006 and 2008 earned the
ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year award. Through
2008,18 of the district's schools have received the
ENERGY STAR Label (U.S. EPA, 2008u).
Web site:
http://www.peterli.com/archive/spm/1235.shtm and
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=pt_
awards.showAwardDetails&esa id=635
Energy Efficiency in K-12 Schools | Local Government Climate and Energy Strategy Series
9. CASE STUDIES
39
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10. ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES AND INFORMATION RESOURCES
Title/Description
Web Site
Examples of Energy Efficiency in K-12 Schools
Albert Lea, MN— Albert Lea Area Schools. The school district has been
recognized as an ENERGY STAR Leader, having improved energy efficiency by
more than 20%. The improvement has saved the district nearly $1 million.
Augusta, MN— Cony High School. Financed through the Efficiency Maine
High Performance Schools Program, the school's $100,000 energy efficiency
improvements will produce annual savings of $28,000.
Averill Park, NY— Averill Park Central School District. The school district reduced
energy costs by $500,000 over 2 years, earning it recognition as an ENERGY
STAR Leader.
Berwick, ME— Noble High School. The shool, completed in 2001, incorporates
energy-efficient HVAC components that save money and enhance occupant
comfort.
Colorado Springs, CO— School District 11. The district has saved $6.5 million on
utility expenses since the beginning of its energy program in 1999.
Enosburg Falls, VT— Middle and High School. Renovation of the Enosburg Falls
Middle and High School increased square footage of the complex by 118%, but
energy efficiency measures ensured consumption increased by only 54%.
Fort Collins, CO— Poudre School. The school was planned using Target Finder.
The building earned a perfect ENERGY STAR performance score.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm7fuseaction =
PARTNER_LIST.showLeadersStory&lds_id = 622&o_
id = 1043576
http://appsl.eere.energy.gov/state_energy_
program/update/project_detail.cfm/pb_id=llll
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm7fuseaction =
PARTNER_LIST.showLeadersStory&lds_id = 161&o_
id = 1035742
http://www.energyvortex.com/pages/
headlinedetails.cfm?id = 655
http://www.dll.org/fotc/energy/
http://www.efficiencyvermont.com/pages/
BBBD2006/docs/Hemmelgarn-VT%20
Examples%20of%20High%20Performance-%20
Enosburg%20Falls%20M.pdf
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm7c = new_
bldg_design.poudreschool_cs
Greensboro, NC— Guilford Northern Middle School. The school, has received the http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm7c = new_
designation "Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR." bldg_design.project_guilford
Gresham, OR— G res ham -Barlow School District 10. The district, which joined
ENERGY STAR in 2005, has achieved the ENERGY STAR for 12 of its schools-
more than half— and is the first school district in the Nation to achieve a 30-point
improvement in energy performance.
Lakeland, WA— Clover Park School District. The district has implemented energy
efficiency measures at two of its school buildings, producing combined energy
cost savings of nearly $14,000 annually.
Mapleton, CO— Mapleton School District. The district utilized an energy
performance contract to implement $4.7 million in energy efficiency
improvements at its schools.
Montgomery County, MD. The county has developed a green building program
for its K-12 schools.
Murrieta Valley, CA— Murrieta Valley Unified School District. The district used a $1.9
million loan from the California Energy Commission to iadopt energy efficiency
improvements that have produced annual cost savings of $420,000.
New Haven, CT— New Haven School District. The school district has earned the
"Designed to Earn the ENERGY STAR" label for four of its new schools.
Red Wing, MN. Red Wing High School received an HVAC upgrade that was
tailored to preserve acoustic quality in critical spaces, including the school media
center and theatre.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.
cfm?fuseaction=PARTNER_LIST.
showLeadersStoryd-lds_id=167&o_id=1029380
http://www.ga.wa.gov/EAS/bcx/CloverPark-SD-
retro-cx.pdf
http://appsl.eere.energy.gov/state_energy_
program/update/project_detaiicfm/pb_id=622
http://montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/
facilities/greenschoolsfocus/sert.shtm
http://www.energy.ca.gov/efficiency/
brightschools/CASE_STUDY_MURRIETA.PDF
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cf m?c=new_
bldg_design.project_sheridan
http://trane.com/Commercial/CaseStudies/Tier3/
RedWingMN.aspx?Caseld = 0
40
10. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Energy Efficiency in K-12 Schools | Local Government Climate and Energy Strategy Series
-------
10 ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES AND INFORMATION RESOURCES (cont.)
Title/Description
San Leandro, CA— McKinley Elementary School. Through the California School
Energy Efficiency program, the school implemented energy efficiency measures
that reduced energy consumption by 49%.
Somerville, MA— Capuano Early Childhood Center. This school, completed in
2003, was designed to achieve overall energy savings of 38% compared to a
conventional design.
Statesville, NC— Third Creek Elementary School. The school was designed to
achieve a 25% energy savings compared with a conventional school building. It
was the first school to receive LEED-Gold certification.
Walled Lake, Mi-Walled Lake Consolidated Schools. The school district,
which encompasses 22 school buildings, has improved its energy performance
portfolio-wide by 30% relative to 2003. The reduction has decreased the school
district's CO2 annual emissions by more than 21,000 tons.
Whitefish Bay, Wl— Whitefish Bay School District. Since its baseline year of 2003,
the district has succeeded in reducing energy use and cost by more than 20%,
resulting in cost savings of more than $927,000, or the cost of 13 full-time staff.
The district's emission reduction is equivalent to the emissions from more than
500 cars per year, or planting more than 700 acres of trees annually.
Web Site
http://www.schoolsenergyefficiency.com/
Documents/McKinley%20Case%20Study.pdf
http://www.masstech.org/renewableenergy/green_
schools/Capuanobrochure.pdf
http://leedcasestudies.usgbc.org/energy.
cfm?ProjectlD = 119
http://www.energystar.gov/index.
cfm?fuseaction=PARTNER_LIST.
showLeadersStory&lds_id=681&o_id=1026497
http://www.energystar.gov/index.
cfm?fuseaction=PARTNER_LIST.
showLeadersStory&lds_id=601&o_id=1058543
Information Resources for K-12 Schools
American School and University Energy Resources. The American School and
University Web site provides numerous energy-related resources for school
administrators and facility operators.
Daylighting in Schools: An Investigation into the Relationship Between
Daylighting and Human Performance. This report was produced for the
California Board on Energy Efficiency to assess the benefits of daylighting on
student performance in schools in California, Colorado, and Washington.
DOE Operations and Maintenance Best Practices. DOE developed this best
practices handbook for K-12 schools.
Dwindling Support: Annual School O&M Cost Study. This American School and
University report addresses the trend of decreasing school O&M budgets across
the country.
Energy Design Guidelines for High Performance Schools. DOE has published
eight reports that provide guidance for designing high-performance school
buildings in eight unique climate regions.
Energy Efficiency and Indoor Air Quality in Schools. This ENERGY STAR report
describes the relationship between energy efficiency upgrades, such as HVAC
retrofits, and indoor air quality in school buildings.
Energy Resources for Schools. This Energyldeas Clearinghouse factsheet provides
information on energy efficiency in K-12 school buildings.
EnergySmart Schools "How-to" Guides. DOE's EnergySmart Schools program
has developed "how-to" guides for planning, designing, financing, and operating
and maintaining energy-efficient school buildings.
http://asumag.com/energy/
http://www. coe. uga. edu/sdpl/research/
daylightingstudy.pdf
http://www.ase.org/uploaded_files/greenschools/
School%20Energy%20Guidebook_9-04.pdf
http://asumag.com/images/archive/04as21.pdf
http://wwwl.eere.energy.gov/buildings/
energysmartschools/design_guides.html
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/busi ness/k!2_
schools/Eefriaq.pdf
http://www.energyideas.org/documents/
factsheets/EIC_schools.pdf
http://wwwl.eere.energy.gov/buildings/
energysmartschools/publications.html
Energy Efficiency in K-12 Schools | Local Government Climate and Energy Strategy Series
10. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
41
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10 ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES AND INFORMATION RESOURCES (cont.)
Title/Description Web Site
Energy Solutions for School Buildings. This DOE Office of Energy Efficiency
and Renewable Energy Web site provides a wealth of information and examples
showing opportunities for energy efficiency in school building design,
construction, and operation.
ENERGY STAR Building Upgrade Manual. The manual provides information on
implementing a staged upgrade approach to improving energy efficiency in
buildings. The revised manual includes a chapter on unique opportunities and
challenges in K-12 schools.
ENERGY STAR Operations and Maintenance Reports. ENERGY STAR has collected
a number of resources on energy-efficient operations and maintenance practices.
Energy-Efficient Education— Cutting Utility Costs in Schools. This Texas State
Energy Conservation Office guidance document provides 10 strategies for
reducing energy costs in public schools.
ENERGY STAR Performance scores Technical Methodology for K-12 Schools.
This document presents specific details on EPA's analytical results and score
methodology for K-12 schools.
Green Schools: Attributes for Health and Learning. This report by the National
Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences offers recommendations
for green school guidelines based on health and productivity benefits associated
with green schools.
Green Schools Program. The Alliance to Save Energy has used this program to
reduce energy use in schools by 5-15%.
Green Schools Toolkit. Southface, a nonprofit green building advocacy group,
developed a toolkit for school districts to help them incorporate energy
efficiency and green building design measures in their schools. The toolkit
includes separate sets of resources for the various participants that might be
involved in upgrading and designing school buildings, including facility and
energy managers, superintendents, administrators, teachers, and students.
Greenhouse Gas Reductions Manual for Schools. The New Jersey Sustainable
Schools Network developed this guidebook for schools to help them reduce
their GHG emissions.
Greening America's Schools: Costs and Benefits. This Capital E report discusses
the cost effectiveness of designing new school buildings with energy-efficient
and sustainable features.
Greening Schools. This Illinois state initiative seeks to inform school
administrators and teachers of ways to incorporate green practices and lessons
into school design and operations.
Hawaii High Performance Schools Guidelines. These technical guidelines were
developed by the State Department of Business, Economic Development, and
Tourism.
High Performance School Characteristics. This American Society of Heating,
Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers report addresses the features,
benefits, and costs associated with designing high-performance school buildings.
Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools Program. This EPA program provides
information to school officials, teachers, and parents on ways to monitor and
maintain good indoor air quality in school buildings.
http://wwwl.eere.energy.gov/buildings/
energysmartschools/
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm7c = business.
bus_upgrade_manual
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm7c = business.
bus_om_reports
http://www.window.state.tx.us/tspr/energy/
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/business/evaluate_
performance/k!2school_tech_desc.pdf
http://www.masstech.org/renewableenergy/green_
schools/NRCreportlO_2_06.pdf
http://www.ase.org/section/program/greenschl
http://www.southface.org/web/
resourcesfrservices/schools/energystar-schools.
htm
http://www.globallearningnj.org/CHCmanual.doc
http://www.cap-e.com/ewebeditpro/items/
O59F11233.pdf
http://www.greeningschools.org/
http://www.archenergy.eom/services/sda//hi%20
high%20performance%20school%20guidelines.pdf
http://www.ashrae.org/publications/detail/16439
http://www.epa.gov/iaq/schools/index.html
42
10. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Energy Efficiency in K-12 Schools | Local Government Climate and Energy Strategy Series
-------
10 ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES AND INFORMATION RESOURCES (cont.)
Title/Description
Maine High Performance Schools. The State of Maine has developed a program
to provide energy-efficient design and implementation assistance to public
schools. The program offers various workshops and seminars, as well as project
financing opportunities.
Web Site
http://www.efficiencymaine.com/other_programs_
hps.htm
Managing the Costs of Green Buildings. This report for the California
Sustainable Buildings Task Force describes the costs of incorporating energy and
environmental features in several types of buildings, including K-12 schools, and
addresses opportunities and strategies for managing costs.
h ttp://www. ciwmb. ca.gov/greenbuilding/Design/
ManagingCost.pdf
Massachusetts Green Schools Initiative. Administered by the Massachusetts
Technology Collaborative and Massachusetts School Building Authority, this
program provides school districts with information and resources to help them
build high-performance school buildings.
http://www.masstech.org/renewableenergy/green_
schools.htm
Menu of ENERGY STAR Offerings for the Public Sector. This table provides
school officials with guidance on how ENERGY STAR can assist with energy
efficiency upgrades.
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/business/
government/Menu_of_Offerings.pdf
National Best Practices Manual for Building High Performance Schools. This
report presents design strategies covering 10 different disciplines, such as
building envelope, lighting and electrical systems, ventilation, maintenance, and
water conservation.
http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy08osti/31S4S.pdf
National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities. The clearinghouse maintains a
collection of resources relevant to improving energy performance in school buildings.
http://www.ed facilities.org/rl/high_performance.
cfm
National Energy Foundation. This nonprofit organization promotes development,
dissemination, and implementation of energy-related educational materials.
http://www. nefl. org/
National Review of Green Schools: Costs, Benefits, and Implications for
Massachusetts. This report was produced by Capital E for the Massachusetts
Technology Collaborative. It describes the financial costs and benefits of green
schools compared to conventional schools, and presents the cost effectiveness
of greening schools in Massachusetts.
http://www.cap-e.com/ewebeditpro/items/
OS9F7707.pdf
National Science Teachers Association. This organization offers guidance to
educators and administrators on how to incorporate energy-related learning into
classroom studies.
http://www. nsta. org/
School Energy Efficiency Program. This Resource Solutions Group program-
funded by the California Public Utilities Commission—offers no-cost technical
and financial assistance to California school districts for energy efficiency
upgrades.
http://www.schoolsenergyefficiency.com/
Schools for Successful Communities: An Element of Smart Growth. This This
publication by the Council of Educational Facility Planners International and
U.S. EPA explains why and how communities can employ smart growth planning
principles to build schools that better serve and support students, staff, parents,
and the entire community.
http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/pdf/
SmartCrowth_schools_Pub.pdf
School Operations and Maintenance: Best Practices for Controlling Energy
Costs. Prepared for DOE, this guidebook is designed to provide school district
staff with technical information and information on barriers to implementing
energy- efficient O&M practices.
http://www.ase.org/uploaded_files/greenschools/
School%20Energy%20Guidebook_9-04.pdf
Energy Efficiency in K-12 Schools | Local Government Climate and Energy Strategy Series
10. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
43
-------
10 ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES AND INFORMATION RESOURCES (cont.)
Title/Description Web Site
Smart Growth and Schools. This EPA Web page provides information to help
communities integrate the principles of smart growth into decisions about where
and how schools are built or renovated.
Tips for Implementing a School-Wide Energy Efficiency Program. The Alliance
to Save Energy has developed a list of 10 action items for implementing energy
efficiency measures in K-12 school buildings.
Travel and Environmental Implications of School Siting. This EPA publication is
the first study to empirically examine the relationship between school locations,
the built environment around schools, how kids get to school, and the impact on
air emissions of those travel choices.
Vermont High Performance Schools. This partnership coordinates stakeholders
from state agencies, industry groups, and trade organizations.
Washington Sustainable School Protocol Pilot Program. This protocol is a variant
of the California CHPS standard that requires high performance in public schools
throughout the state.
http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/schools.htm
http://www.ase.org/content/article/detail/637
http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/schooL travel.
htm
http://neep.org/public-policy/hpse/hpse-vermont
http://www. k!2. wa. us/Sch Facilities/Programs/
HighPerformanceSchools/WSSPFinalDraft2006.pdf
Information Resources on Commissioning K-12 Schools
Commissioning for Schools. This Hawaii Department of Business, Economic
Development, and Tourism factsheet provides information on the estimated costs of
commissioning a broad range of school building components.
The Cost-Effectiveness of Commercial Buildings Commissioning. This
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report assesses the cost and benefits of
commissioning several types of buildings, including schools.
Lessons Learned from Commissioning 15 Schools. This report identifies a
number of commissioning issues and challenges encountered by California
schools undergoing building commissioning processes.
http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/energy/
publications/schools/commissioning.pdf
http://eetd.lbl.gov/emills/PUBS/PDF/Cx-Costs-
Benefits.pdf
http -.//resources, cacx. org/library/holdings/202.pdf
Information Resources on CHPS Initiatives
Best Practices Manual. The Collaborative for High Performance Schools has
developed guidance for planning, designing, constructing, and operating high-
performance schools.
Collaborative for High Performance Schools Web Site. The Collaborative for
High Performance Schools is a program that has been used in several states that
oversees a green building rating program designed exclusively for K-12 schools.
Massachusetts Collaborative for High Performance Schools. The Massachusetts
Technology Collaborative adapted the California CHPS model, building on the
model's strongest features and adding more stringent requirements.
New York Collaborative for High Performance Schools. The New York CHPS is
based on the Massachusetts CHPS, but is tailored to meet New York State building
energy codes.
Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships. The partnerships have developed a
protocol for designing high-performance schools in the Northeast.
http://www.chps.net/dev/Drupal/node/288
http://www. chps. net/dev/Drupal/node
http://www.masstech.org/renewableenergy/green_
schools/gs_publications.html
http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/facplan/documents/
NY- CHPS_Sep2007finalNYSERDA. doc
http://neep.org/public-policy/hpse/hpse-nechps
44
10. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Energy Efficiency in K-12 Schools | Local Government Climate and Energy Strategy Series
-------
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