Outlook 2008
Jan 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Mike Kennedy
Reducing the use of electric lights also means less heat is generated. Another way schools can prevent unwanted heat from entering a facility is installing cool roofs, which typically are made of light-colored, reflective materials that turn away sun rays.
Alternative energy sources can help schools acquire the power they need at lower costs. Some education institutions use wind turbines to harness energy and use it to power their facilities. The federal government's goal is for wind power to provide 20 percent of the nation's electricity by 2030.
The Department of Energy's Wind Powering America program works with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to bring wind power to schools, especially in rural areas. Schools in 23 states have school wind projects.
In addition to the energy savings, wind power projects can be used to educate students about how energy is produced.
Solar power is another way schools can acquire energy more efficiently. Photovoltaic cells atop school roofs can be used to capture sun rays and convert them to energy. In Florida, the SunSmart Schools program provided photovoltaic systems to 17 schools and colleges in 2006-07. In California, Pacific Gas & Electric's Solar Schools program provides photovoltaic panels to up to 40 schools a year so they can cut electricity costs and teach students about solar energy.
Some schools have been able to lessen their reliance on fossil fuels for their energy needs by installing geothermal heating and cooling systems, which take advantage of the constant temperature of the earth. In the summer, heat pumps remove heat from a building and store it in the ground; in the winter, the system pumps heat from the ground back into the building.
Systems such as a geothermal heat pump can be expensive, and schools may not have the finances to pay for such a large upfront cost — even though administrators know they can save money in the long run with a more efficient system.
For many schools and universities, the solution is a performance contract. An energy company agrees to pay the initial costs of installing more energy-efficient equipment in an education facility. The school or university agrees to repay the cost of the new system out of the savings generated by the more efficient system.
The rising cost of fuel hits school district transportation budgets especially hard, so administrators should be open to alternatives that will enable them to run their fleets more efficiently. Several districts around the country are experimenting with electric-hybrid school buses.
The Austin (Texas) district began using a plug-in hybrid school bus in November — the first district in Texas to buy such a bus. The district estimates that with an electric drive and a diesel engine, the bus will get about 12 miles a gallon, compared with about 6 miles a gallon for a typical diesel-powered bus. Battery packs that provide the electric power to the bus are recharged overnight.
Kennedy, staff writer, can be reached at mkennedy@asumag.com.
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