Search

By initially demonstrating that rising energy costs are threatening to force educational decision-makers to curtail educational programs, this paper suggests a number of energy-saving options for school administrators and presents a case study of energy conservation. Suggestions concerning energy conservation in school facilities are drawn from several published sources. These suggestions include forming an energy management team of representatives from the school and community and preparing detailed energy use reports, energy miniaudits by energy team members in each facility, and maxiaudits conducted by hired experts. Sources for the funding of energy projects are suggested. Maintenance and measures requiring capital investment are discussed. A brief section regarding energy-saving in transportation systems cites suggestions from a U.S. Department of Transportation publication. The final section of the paper presents a program to save money in a school transportation system used in Mercer County, West Virginia. This program used rerouting and rescheduling to cut its l02 buses to 94, conducted a bus driver training course on techniques to promote school economy, and instituted a maintenance program designed to save fuel. The paper concludes that a successful district-wide energy conservation program requires participation and commitment. (Author/JM)

Building design and construction that helps deliver both superior air quality and occupant thermal comfort, while minimizing energy consumption, are examined. The paper explores an integrated building systems approach that combines the principles of "directed air flow control" and "demand controlled ventilation" where ventilation is effectively delivered to the occupant, based on loading, that can be applied to all types of indoor air quality situations in all types of buildings. Highlighted are savings and return of investment data for the traditional "green building" general design strategy. Case studies provide examples of this high performance IAQ design. Finally, key differences and advantages of a displacement ventilation design classroom versus conventional mixing ventilation systems are examined along with data of expected benefits of a heating, ventilation, air conditioning school displacement design. (GR)

This pamphlet reviews the direct transfer of solar energy into heat, particularly for the purpose of providing space and hot water heating needs. Owners of buildings and homes are provided with a basic understanding of solar heating and hot water systems: what they are, how they perform, the energy savings possible, and the cost factors involved. Both liquid and air solar collection systems are practical today. For convenience, most of the examples given relate to liquid systems. (Author/MLF)

This publication series of five booklets presents a summary of tips for saving energy in pupil transportation. The first booklet offers guidelines and suggestions to assist school transportation administration in achieving better fuel economy and cost management goals. The second presents purchasing tips and shows ways to use benefit cost analysis to provide a comprehensive measure of investment performance in selecting school busses. The third booklet contains a pocket mileage record for driver use. The fourth offers tips for planning, training personnel, purchasing, and operation that lead to greater fuel economy, and the fifth booklet addresses some of the basic scientific principles involved in saving fuel. (Author/MLF)

This handbook offers a practical approach for pupil transportation energy management by suggesting ideas to save fuel in the purchasing, planning, routing, scheduling, driving, and maintenance areas of the pupil transportation operation. The handbook is divided into seven parts. Part 1 and 2 provide insight into energy management in pupil transportation. Part 3 discusses the driving environment variables that influence fuel economy and provides a framework for practical recommendations. Part 4 presents step-by-step guidelines for reducing fuel use in the school district. Actions that can be taken to increase fuel economy in each area of the pupil transportation operation are discussed in Part 5. Part 6 offers helpful suggestions to implement fuel economy management. This is followed by a listing of additional tips to save energy and a conclusion in Part 7. Sources that can be called on for further information and assistance and a bibliography are included in Part 8.

Energy education units (consisting of a general teacher's guide and nine units containing a wide variety of energy lessons, resources, learning aids, and bibliography) were developed for the Indiana Energy Education Program from existing energy education materials. The units were designed to serve as an entire curriculum, resource document, supplementary materials, or as a laboratory manual of "hands-on" activities which could be infused into existing grades 9-12 curricula. Unit VI, focusing on fossil fuels and energy alternatives (solar and coal), consists of an introduction (rationale, unit objectives, and general background information), eight "solar lessons," three "coal lessons," unit resources, bibliography, and teacher evaluation form. Each lesson includes lesson title, objectives, background information, activities, evaluation techniques, and resources. Titles of solar lessons are: (1) All Buildings Are Solar Collectors; (2) The Cardboard Carpenter and the Solar Hot Plate; (3) A Green/Ice House; (4) A Wet Solar Collector; (5) The Sunshine Papers (drawing and designing a solar plate collector); (6) Color Conduction Comparison; (7) Wind Generator; and (8) Second Hand Solar Sources: Savonius Rotors. Coal lesson titles are: (1) Coal and Energy; (2) Types of Mining and Mines; and (3) Problems with Coal and Solutions. (Author/JN)

Collected in this guide are 84 cost saving measures submitted by Pennsylvania school districts. Information on each practice includes a description, background, effectiveness, cost requirements, adaptability, and contact for further details. Facilities practices include energy management and conservation measures. Materials/equipment practices include centralized book storage, purchasing, office services, computer applications such as keeping student and staff attendance and conducting a district census, direct billing for cafeteria meals, standarization of equipment, a decentralized phone system, and transportation economy tips. Personnel practices listed are the use of lay editors for grading papers, split teaching assignment, sharing principals and administrators, time clocks, staggered hours, district reorganization with school closings, teacher commendation, nonunion support staff, custodial education and staffing standards, lab fee collection, a centralized substitute teacher system, staff utilization studies, staff realignment, and multiple certification hiring. Finance/business practices offer savings through budgeting policies and insurance programs, tax collection and revenue investment, and cash flow programs. Curriculum/instruction cost saving practices are contracting driver training, district consortia for program development, a team approach to behavior problems, compensatory time for curriculum development, special education reorganization, and full-day kindergarten programs. (MJL)

Energy costs are a school district's second highest expenditure after personnel. Public schools currently spend more than $8 billion per year for energy. School energy expenditures rose, on average, 20 percent per year between 2000 and 2002--and the costs continue to rise. Natural gas prices alone increased 14 percent annually between 2003 and 2006. Improving a school's energy efficiency doesn't have to cost millions. In fact, schools can cut their energy expenses by 5 to 20 percent simply by efficiently managing and operating physical plants. This holds true regardless of the age of a school building. This paper offers tips for improving a school's energy efficiency.

This instructional unit for use in 11th and 12th grade social studies and science courses contains six classroom lessons dealing with United States energy policy. The overall objective is to help students understand how circumstances, present and proposed legislation, political action, and the Constitution itself become linked in the development of a national policy. The lessons, developed by teachers, are: (1) The Nightmare Life Without Fuel; (2) How Can the United States Reduce Its Dependence on Foreign Oil?; (3) The President's Powers: Where They Come From and How They Are Used; (4) Advantages and Disadvantages of Coal; (5) Toward the Future: The Advantages of Having a National Energy Plan; (6) An Energy Policy is Born. Activities in which students are involved include discussing the short reading selections; analyzing graphs and research; and analyzing a case study dealing with President Carter's energy policy. The time needed to teach each lesson varies from one to three classroom periods. All teacher and student materials are included. Also included for the teacher's reference is a brief summary of President Carter's energy policy. (Author/RM)

This instructional unit contains eight classroom lessons dealing with a history of energy in the United States for use in grade eight and nine social studies, science, and mathematics courses. The lessons were developed by teachers. The overall objective is to help students understand the present necessity to reexamine and perhaps alter our present energy patterns. Students study about the impact that the different types of energy used from colonial times to the present have had on U.S. culture and learn about the physical properties of wood, coal, and oil, particularly about the ability of these substances to give heat. The activities in which students are involved include answering questions based on short reading selections; gathering and interpreting materials from a picture; comparing the uses of energy by a colonial farm family and by a family of today; constructing a can calorimeter; learning how to determine the energy content of wood; applying the principles of scientific motivation to energy data; constructing and interpreting graphs; making a model of a steam turbine; and learning how to determine the heat content of oil. The amount of time needed to teach each lesson varies from one to four classroom periods. Each lesson is self-contained, and includes instructions for the teacher and student materials. The eight lessons are organized into three units: (1) America's Wooden Age (1650-1820); (2) The Coming of Coal (1840-1920); and (3) Oil: Bright Promise (1880-present). (Author/RM)

This instructional unit contains four classroom lessons dealing with energy for use in grades six and seven. The overall objective is to provide students with a comparative overview of two basic energy concepts: energy is a basic need in all cultures; and energy use affects the way people live. In the lessons, which can easily be integrated into studies of world cultures and physical geography of the world, students compare Accra, Ghana, with the Washington, D.C. area in terms of climate, geographic location, energy dependence, and services that meet their needs. The four lessons developed by teachers are: (1) A Geographical Picture of Two Cities; (2) Tracing the Sources of Electric Power in Ghana and in the Washington, D.C. area; (3) Two Transportation Systems: How Are They Alike? How Are They Different; and (4) How Is Electricity Used In Two Different Cultures? The second lesson can also be taught in science courses. Students construct climagraphs, analyze and interpret fact sheet maps and bar graphs, answer questions about highway and road maps, and examine case studies. A time allotment varying from one to four classes for each of the four lessons is suggested, but will probably vary depending on student interest and ability. Each lesson contains complete teacher and student materials background information for the teacher on the topic under study. (Author/RM)

This workbook provides a fill-in-the-blanks approach to an energy conservation program for schools which lack full-time engineering personnel. The generalized approach given here is not as detailed as an energy audit, but it allows school administrators, maintenance personnel, or building operators to analyze energy uses and to determine energy conservation steps and estimate savings in accordance with U.S. Department of Energy Class C Information Audit procedures. The four chapters present: (1) no cost maintenance and operation changes; (2) example problems for determining savings of energy conservation measures; (3) lists of energy conservation measures; and (4) how to prepare an energy conservation plan for your school. (MR)