District 204 on quest to improve energy efficiency
Indian Prairie Unit District 204 is aggressively working to reverse a less-than-stellar energy consumption record that has plagued the district for the last decade.
Board members Monday unanimously approved a contract with the district's facilities and maintenance contractor, Aramark Education, aimed at cutting the district's energy bills by as much as $3 million over five years.
The district would pay about $1.9 million during that time for the program. In addition to the energy savings, Aramark would provide the district with about another $400,000 in benefits, so the district would gain $1.5 million over five years in the end.
During an August presentation, Aramark officials told the district that energy usage increased several thousand BTUs per square foot from 2007 to 2008, continuing a trend from earlier in the decade.
"In our district, energy consumption per building went up and up and up and up and up," said board member Dawn DeSart. "In this time when we've got so many energy opportunities, products, programs available; so many energy-efficient things are out there that there is no reason why our energy consumption should be going anywhere but down."
Based on initial building walk-throughs, efficiency experts believe the district's heating, cooling and ventilation could be optimized by setting the systems at one uniform temperature and time schedule across the district; some gymnasium lighting could be upgraded to be more efficient; and the staff could be retrained on efficiency.
"In a day and age when money is an issue for everyone, I appreciate the fact that there are people out there who can bring in new ideas and help us be more aware of our energy usage and ways we can save more taxpayer dollars," said board member Christine Vickers.
The goal is to have enough energy-saving plans ready to go so the district can apply for federal funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as they get appropriated.
"It's a lot of money, but we will see. I believe that this program will pay for itself," DeSart said.