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The Omaha Public Schools is ready to show that Kermit the Frog was wrong: With commitment, it is easy being green — and it's saving money.
The district's relatively new Green Schools Initiative already is paying off. Eight of the district's newest or recently remodeled schools have been recognized as Energy Stars.
Running an Energy Star school costs about 40 cents less per square foot than a building with average efficiency. That means those eight OPS schools save the district a total of more than $300,000 a year in utility costs.
“The more efficient a building is, the more cost-effective it is to run,” said Craig Moody of the local stainability consulting firm Verdis Group. “This initiative is very much financially driven. Our goal is to make our schools as efficient as possible.”
With focused improvements, Moody said, the number of OPS schools that meet Energy Star requirements should increase annually. And that's just the beginning of the district's green effort.
OPS has had some green building standards for the last 10 years, said buildings and grounds director Mark Warneke. In all OPS buildings built or remodeled in the last decade, the restrooms have automatic lights, toilets and faucets. The buildings also have heat pumps that allow for individual classroom climate control.
Those standards helped make the Energy Star schools as efficient as they are.
Twenty OPS buildings use geothermal heating and cooling systems and many — including the Energy Star schools — have a building-wide energy management system, in which a computer monitors and controls everything from temperature to lighting and indoor air quality, room by room.
The Green Schools Initiative will build on current district standards. The goal: Increase energy efficiency to save money and shrink the district's environmental impact.
“This is the way we need to do business,” said Jerry Bartee, assistant superintendent for business services. “We need to do this better than it's being done anywhere else.”
Verdis Group is a consultant on the project, making recommendations and analyzing existing buildings, practices and procedures related to energy efficiency and materials waste. Susie Buffett's Sherwood Foundation is footing the bill for Verdis Group's multi-year work with OPS.
Verdis completed energy audits on all 86 OPS buildings, resulting in the Energy Star designations. The audits led to the Omaha district being named Nebraska's only Energy Star partner district. Building efficiency scores will be used when making upgrading and remodeling decisions.
Up next, Verdis will launch a series of district-wide projects that could save $890,400 to $1,030,400 annually in energy costs.
Lighting improvement will be the first and largest program. It is expected to begin before school starts in August and finish in about three years.
The lighting retrofit will bring the district a “short payback” of about $590,000 per year in energy cost savings, Moody said. He told school board members in a recent discussion that the fluorescent lights used now in most schools won't be manufactured after July 2012, in accordance with federal law.
Switching out the common 4-foot, 40-watt bulbs in classrooms and hallways for 25-watt bulbs, Moody said, will decrease the heat produced, use less electricity and provide better light quality.
Students aren't likely to notice a drastic change, and the maintenance work required for the effort won't disrupt class time.
The other early projects are specialty insulation; purchasing more energy-efficient computers, refrigerators and vending machines as they are replaced; and completing the transition to all-automatic or low-flow water faucets and toilets.
Administrators and school board members say they want OPS to lead by example with environmentally friendly practices. And education — for staff, students and the community — will be a major component of the effort.
When finished, Moody said, the district's green plan is likely to include everything from establishing public gardens to standardizing ways to cut carbon use in buildings and vehicles.
When finished, the Green Schools Initiative plan will outline equipment efficiency options so the district is armed with information when everyday upgrades are necessary. For example, the district will know the cost and energy benefits if it decided to repair or replace a boiler or add a skylight when a roof is replaced.
And it will try to spread the best programs under way at individual schools around the district, such as recycling and reducing food waste.
“There's a real desire for this to be a leading-edge program nationally,” Moody said. “We're doing some really fun stuff.”
Contact the writer:
444-1037, michaela.saunders@owh.com
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