Illinois’ Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 recently partnered with Energy Education to help decrease its energy use and utility costs. The company implemented the school district’s Transformational Energy Management process, an environmental stewardship program that assists in reducing energy consumption. Due to its consistent diligence regarding energy cutbacks, the Environmental Protection Agency recognized Energy Education with a 2011 ENERGY STAR Award for Sustained Excellence. This isn’t the first time the organization has been recognized by the EPA, however; this follows its receipt of the 2009 and 2010 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award.
District 205 is also a winner here, having reported an average of 20 to 30 percent in annual energy consumption reduction, an ability to redirect saved dollars into other important initiatives, a reduced carbon footprint and an overall awareness of how everyone can individually and collectively make a difference.
ENERGY STAR is a joint program between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy that encourages people to save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices. In 2010 alone, it helped Americans save nearly $18 million on their utility bills, as well as avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 33 million cars.
DeKalb County Central United School District announced today the district has achieved the nation’s second 50 Percent ENERGY STAR® Leader designation by the federal government’s ENERGY STAR Program after partnering with Energy Education Inc. This prestigious recognition is presented to the most energy efficient organizations in the country. DeKalb County Central United School District was recognized because it has accomplished significant energy efficiency improvements district-wide and ranked in the top 25 percent of school districts for energy conservation savings. Continue reading “DeKalb County Central United School District partners with Energy Education Inc. and earns second ENERGY STAR Recognition” »
ASHBURN, Va. (WUSA) — You’re probably familiar with the Energy Star Program and Energy Education for appliances, but the EPA also has energy star for buildings as well and this can mean big energy savings for local schools.
Sanders Corner Elementary School in Ashburn, Virginia, is among the most energy efficient schools in America, and it got that way mainly through conservation.
“Well the people have to be borderline obsessive, you just can’t let waste occur anywhere in the building”, according to John Lord, Energy Education Specialist with Loudoun County Public Schools.
In order to earn the EPA’s Energy Star Rating , a school must be in the top 25% of energy efficient schools in the nation.
Maria Vargas of the EPA’s Energy Star Program points out, “We can help schools save 30-40 percent on their energy bills. That’s a lot of money when you think that schools spend about 8 billion dollars a year on their energy bills. That’s more than textbooks and computers combined.”
Energy savings in the schools has required a team effort. Everyone from the students to the teachers to the janitorial staff are all aware of the need to make the effort to do the little things like keeping doors closed to save heating and cooling costs, reporting leaky faucets and other problems as they occur.
Common sense also save a lot of energy. Keeping lights off when they’re not needed, playful reminders on light switches, and some smart control devices all make a difference. Computer use in the schools has also exploded, but the energy use has not.
Principal Kathleen Hwang keeps her office lights off as much as possible in order to help the cause. “We think that despite the fact that we’re an old school (built in 1995), we’re still able to do all the human things , we don’t need all the fancy gadgets here”
One of the Loudoun county schools that has earned the Energy Star Award was built in 1929…that just goes to show you how much you can save by changing some habits.
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Energy Star Award 2009
Department Honors Local Company
Wichita Falls Times Record News
Energy Education, a company that got its start in Wichita Falls, was recently presented with the Energy Star partner of the year award by the United States Department of Energy.
The company was founded by Bill Spears, a former WFISD school board member who first became interested in energy efficiency in the 1980s.
“He has been in business in Wichita Falls for a number of years. Dr. Spears had always had an interest in energy efficiency,” said Jan Noel-Smith, director of Public Relations of Energy Education in Wichita Falls.
Through his years on the school board, Spears helped design a utility-savings program that helped the district decrease utility costs without sacrificing classroom comfort and without buying more expensive utility equipment, Noel-Smith said.
Today, Energy Education has offices in Dallas and Wichita Falls and serves school districts, religious organizations and others nationwide.
The Energy Star Partner of the Year award recognizes organizations that have made outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through superior energy efficiency.
Energy Education trains their clients to implement changes in their organization that substantially reduce energy consumption without the purchase of new equipment. The program is solely funded by the savings it generates.
In 2008, 84 percent of the public education school buildings that achieved Energy Star labels across the United States were Energy Education clients, said Noel-Smith.
“This recognition is shared with our clients, who learned from us and took the training on and encouraged their people to follow the program,” Noel-Smith said.
http://www.energyeducation.com/NewsPress/tabid/63/newsid409/123/Default.aspx