Schools strive to trim costs

By Rebecca Randall

The Lake Oswego Review, May 13, 2010

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Lights are being dimmed, conserved (and when appropriate) turned off as a part of a push to save 10 percent of Lake Oswego School District’s $1.5 million in energy bills during the next fiscal year.

The district has already taken some steps to reduce energy consumption, but the dismal economic future has caused officials to amp up its efforts.

The most noticeable piece in next year’s plan is installation of Portland General Electric’s new Energy Expert software that will monitor energy use in real-time in each district building. The software is funded by a federal stimulus grant awarded to the city of Lake Oswego. The money covers fees for the first year and the installation of kiosks at each building. Finance Director Stuart Ketzler hopes that the kiosks will be a nice visual way for students to see how their school is faring compared to other schools.

Some energy retrofits have already been completed in the last few years under the state Senate Bill 1149, which provides funding for energy improvements at schools. And a short-term program, funding by stimulus money, helped to update outdoor lights and lighting at the administration building and facility operations building.

Still to come, the district plans to implement a Direct Digital Control system for HVAC systems at older school buildings, paid for by SB 1149. In the future the system could also be used to schedule lighting. In the fall, the district plans to implement a computer power management software, which alone could save $35,000 per year.

A draft version of energy and resource conservation guidelines outlines a number of ways to be better stewards of resources.

The document proposes to charge sports teams $25 per hour for not canceling field events in a timely manner. In the past, field lights have been left on when no one is playing.

It provides a list of parameters for an acceptable temperature range for building heating and cooling systems, bans the use of space heaters except in an emergency, requires lights to be turned off if leaving a room for more than two minutes, requires computer monitors to be turned off when not in use and gives many other energy savings measures.

In compiling the draft, the district consulted with Gresham-Barlow School District, which is nationally recognized for its energy conservation, and the Beaverton School District, which has an Energy and Resource Conservation Department. Additionally, the district is open to using resources from PGE and Northwest Natural to develop further conservation measures.

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