Schools A+ Energy Efficiency Program Overview
To help you and your school meet the objective of improving energy performance and achieving financial savings, the initial focus of the the Schools A+ Energy
Efficiency Program targets achievable goals by:
- Concentrating on existing facilities;
- Identifying no-cost and low-cost opportunities; and
- Doing simple things first.
To help you understand the opportunities and challenges of partnering with your schools and provide you with the knowledge, tools, and resources you will need to achieve success, we're providing the following program components.
Educational Components
- Information—Read through this website, understand the process and refer to the Resources and Program Materials to become more knowledgeable.
- Training—
- Commercial Energy Auditing Training or Experience—It is highly recommended that co-op staff either have solid field experience in conducting commercial energy audits, or complete the Touchstone Energy Commercial Energy Auditing training.
- Training Key Schools Personnel—Co-ops should encourage their school facilities and maintenance personnel to go through the Schools A+ Energy Efficiency training that covers energy saving opportunities, including lighting, HVAC, and other building equipment.
Working Components
Two important working components of the Schools A+ Energy Efficiency Program are Walk-thru Energy Audits and Benchmarking.
- Walk-thru Energy Audit—Following the recommended training outlined above, be prepared to take your key school personnel on a walk-thru audit to identify low-cost, no-cost fixes. Just as there are many types of buildings, there are many types of energy audits. They range in detail, complexity, and time required from a simple walk-thru audit to a very detailed investment-grade audit that includes extensive investigation and calculation of costs, savings, and economic impact.
The Schools A+ Energy Efficiency Program focuses on doing the simple things first. A walk-thru audit can be completed in a couple of hours in most schools. The auditor looks at the general condition of the building envelope, as well as the condition and operation of all major energy users in the school. Lighting, HVAC systems, food service equipment, water heating systems, and plug loads all will be examined. The walk-thru audit, coupled with a review of utility rates, building energy use and demand, can tell a lot about the school and identify many opportunities for energy savings and efficiency improvements.
- Benchmarking—Benchmarking is a process used by businessess to measure performance metrics and compare them to industry best practices. By measuring quality, time, and cost, benchmarking helps organizations do things better, faster, and cheaper.
The Schools A+ Energy Efficiency Program benchmarking process utilizes software like EPA's Portfolio Manager, available here. Energy Benchmarking takes energy usage data from utility bills as well as basic information about the building's size, operation, and location. A set of parameters is derived that can be used to compare the energy use of similar buildings in the same area, or in different regions. These comparisons can help identify ways to improve energy performance.
The saying "you can't manage what you don't measure" certainly applies to school energy use. Once baselines for schools have been developed, they can be used for a number of important applications:
- Manage energy usage in all buildings
- Compare performance among buildings in the school system to determine high and low performers
- Prioritize energy efficiency and investment strategies
- Track program impacts
- Estimate carbon footprint
- Gain ENERGY STAR label
Program Materials
A variety of resources, including a PowerPoint presentation, brochures and promotional materials are available through this web site. Simply click on Program Materials and download the items that you need to get your program started.
