Congratulations to the Center School District for achieving ENERGY STAR certification on three of their school buildings. Center Elementary, Center Middle, and Center High School all received recognition for superior energy performance.
Just as with appliances, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awards ENERGY STAR certification to buildings that are energy efficient (www.energystar.gov). The EPA has 21 building categories that can be used to rate how energy efficient a building is compared to all the other buildings of that type across the United States.
A score of 50 is typical for most buildings and means that your building is only average in energy efficiency. A score of 25 means that your building is not very energy efficient and only better than 25% of all building of the same type nationwide. Certification is based on weather-normalized source energy use that takes into account occupancy, hours of operation, and other key metrics. A building must receive a score of 75 or better to be ENERGY STAR certified.
Center High School achieved a score of 98 and Center Elementary and Center Middle School both achieved a score of 95, which is outstanding. This means these facilities are more energy efficient than 95% of other school facilities of the same type.
“We’re honored to earn the ENERGY STAR for superior energy performance at these sites and appreciate the efforts of everyone who has been involved in its efficient operations,” —Dr. Yolanda Cargile, Center School District Superintendent.
By being more energy efficient, schools can help prevent greenhouse gas emissions and improve the student’s learning environment. The Center School District partnered with Navitas to help them achieve their energy conservation goals.
Their efforts included:
- Working with an ESCO, an energy service company, to help manage and improve energy performance.
- Installing energy-efficient lighting systems and controls that improve light quality and reduce heat gain.
- Upgrading heating and cooling equipment to more energy efficient units.
- Using an energy performance contract to guarantee energy savings from upgrades.
- Performing monthly maintenance of heating and cooling equipment to guarantee efficient operation throughout the year.
- Measuring and tracking energy performance.
- Educating students and staff about how their behaviors affect energy use.
- Turning off lights when not in use or when natural daylight can be used.
- Setting back the thermostat in the evening and other times when the building is unoccupied.
The school district can and will continue to use the savings from improved energy performance to help pay for the building improvements and other upgrades that have enhanced the learning environment.