Tooele schools reduce energy use

TOOELE — The Tooele School District has saved hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past three years by taking simple steps to reduce energy costs.

Combined, the district has saved more than $700,000 since hiring Texas-based Energy Education to improve conservation in 2008, district energy manager Al Bottema said. Those savings occurred even with a new high school and a community learning center opening, according to the Tooele Transcript-Bulletin.

Energy Education provides the district with energy consumption software that tracks their usage and developed energy savings recommendations specific to the school district's buildings and equipment. After the contract expires next year, the district will continue to use the software.

The four-year $892,800 contract comes with a guarantee from Energy Education that savings will more than cover the cost of the contract. So far that promise has held true, Bottema said.

The program emphasized measures such as turning off lights and computers on nights, weekends or during vacations when schools are not in use, Bottema said. The district installed energy-efficient lighting and upgraded heating and cooling systems in some schools.

Buildings were kept at 74 degrees during the summer and 71 degrees during the winter, Bottema said.

"We had some complaints at first when we started the program," said Bottema. "But the program is all about education and changing people's habits. We would not be able to achieve these kinds of results without the support of the teachers."

Generating some of those complaints were school closures outside of normal working hours, but those issues have been resolved, said Tooele Education Association president Bob Gowans.

"There was a lot of chatter amongst teachers when the program started," he said. "We've worked out most of the problems."

Superintendent Terry Linares said the district was fortunate that they started the energy savings program as state revenue dropped and school budgets were cut.

By saving the money, the district avoided deeper cuts that "most likely would have meant laying off some employees," Linares said.