Fremd and Conant High Schools earn EPA’s Energy Star Awards
Palatine-Schaumburg Township High School District 211 announced that William Fremd and James B. Conant High Schools have earned the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star certification.
It is presented to buildings rating within the top 25 percent in energy efficiency nationally. Since the program’s inception in 1999, 79 schools in Illinois have received the award, 12 of them high schools.
In the Energy Star application, the national energy performance rating is expressed on a scale of 1 to 100. Fremd and Conant received Energy Star performance scores of 81 and 95, respectively.
“We’re extremely pleased to have Fremd and Conant High Schools receive this special national recognition,” District 211 Superintendent Nancy Robb said in a news release. “Since the Board of Education approved our participation in this program in 2004, District 211 has reduced energy consumption by nearly 24 percent, while saving over $4.4 million in energy costs.”
To combat rising energy and utility costs, as well as be environmentally responsible, the district in 2004 entered into a four-year partnership with Energy Education Inc. to implement an energy conservation program. As part of the contract, extended training and consultation services were provided at no cost in following years.
District 211 Energy Manager Reece Thome has worked to promote energy conservation among staff and analyzes and monitors key areas within buildings daily. These include: lighting, heating, cooling, humidity control, mechanical and appliance systems, landscape watering practices, and utility cost tracking, analysis and projection. Conservation tips and consumption information are given to staff to change behaviors.
District 211 also has obtained more than $791,000 in energy grants and incentives sought from Illinois agencies and organizations.
They include:
Ÿ Illinois Clean Energy Foundation — Lighting retrofits at Conant, Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates High Schools. District 211 received $212,000 in grant reimbursements for equipment and labor, producing an expected annual efficiency savings of approximately $136,000.
Ÿ Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity — Lighting upgrades to Conant High School’s front exterior entrance and the Administration Center warehouse. District 211 received $22,000 in grant reimbursements for equipment and labor, for an expected annual efficiency savings of approximately $6,000.
Ÿ Illinois Renewable Energy Grant Program — Solar panel project at Fremd High School. The district received a $48,000 grant for a 30 percent share of the cost for solar panels to provide heat for water and air to the pool area.
Ÿ Smart Energy Design Assistance Program — Engineering evaluation of Palatine and Hoffman Estates High Schools for retro-commissioning of heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment. District 211 received two grants totaling $69,000 for site evaluations currently under way.
Ÿ ComEd Load Response Program — ComEd pays customers to reduce usage on request during peak demand periods. when requested by ComEd. The district has received more than $440,000.