SCHOOLS ENERGY BLITZ CASE STUDIES

Transcription

1 SCHOOLS ENERGY BLITZ CASE STUDIES 1. WOODROFFE PRIMARY SCHOOL Climate change explored. Groups undertook energy auditing, each responsible for different areas e.g. computer laboratory, office, canteen, library, preschool looking at lighting, computers and air conditioning. Groups collated information and recommendations and presented their own PowerPoint presentation. All put together in one PowerPoint presentation including all recommendations and presented to Principal. Other student groups focused on transport and waste issues, carrying out surveys and investigating implementation of a walking bus program for the school starting next dry season. Students created board games and multimedia presentations demonstrating their learning. Home audits carried out by both classes Each student developed a tailored brochure for their family covering global warming, about my house, the audit results and recommendations for my family. Feedback included my mum has started turning off lights. Our Earth, Our Future competition using their knowledge students wrote letters to the Prime Minister re dreams, aspirations for an environmentally friendly world. World Environment Day lights out experiment What is Global Warming? Assembly with 5 classes presenting one aspect each to do with climate change Newsletter contributions from students regarding energy use and walking to school Students created posters, calculated costing for printing and laminating and explained issues to classes when giving their poster. By the end of term 2 the two year 6/7 classes participating in the School Energy Blitz project had completed the energy audit on their school and homes and identified a number of energy and greenhouse gas saving opportunities. Some of the saving opportunities identified by the students at this school include: 17t CO2-e/yr through reducing waste by composting and reduced paper consumption; 17.5t+ 1 CO2-e/yr by reducing operating times and increasing temperature settings of air-conditioning 1 Actual savings from increased temperature settings of air-conditioners unknown at time of writing, figure is for reduced operating times only.

2 systems; 10.4t CO2-e/yr by choosing to selectively de-lamp and use task lighting or installing a voltage reduction system to their lighting circuits; 2t CO2-e/yr by reducing refrigeration energy consumption by eliminating unnecessary units, increasing temperature set points and improving ventilation; 2t CO2-e by turning off solar hot water boosters and unused electric hot water systems, and decreasing temperature set points; and, 2.3t CO2-e/yr through reduced stand-by power consumption of small appliances. In addition to the savings mentioned above the students identified a number of opportunities to save energy within their own homes. Though it is difficult to calculate the potential reductions of greenhouse gases from these households, the enthusiasm shown by these students throughout the term to change their own habits and increase the awareness of others, within the school community and at home, and, their ability to identify energy waste, is encouraging. Clare Pries Decision Making and Recommendations Meeting held with principal, COOLmob auditor (Clare) and class teachers to discuss technical and behavioural recommendations based on students recommendations and Clare s analysis of data collected. Action plan developed by principal based on recommendations approved by school council. Final proposal has potential for 20-70% lighting energy savings o o Old 36W fluorescent lamp fittings are being converted to fit latest technology 28W T5 lamps which have equivalent light output. Fluorescent security lights which operate all night every night are being replaced with latest technology LED lights which save 70 % in energy. After hours air conditioning switches with LED on indicators are also being installed to help staff manage after hours air conditioning use. Project cost: $ 18,300 Estimated savings: $ 5,160 per year Greenhouse gas savings: 21 tonnes per year For students awareness of need for behaviour change and doing it themselves. For teachers their own learning regarding issues, taking it on board, changing behaviour at home and talking about their learning to other adults. For the whole school - o knowing we spend $80,000 on power and what areas use a lot 900 lights, 75% air conditioner use. Greater awareness of need for a whole school approach and how it would work. o Principal has a vision for Woodroffe re energy management. Prior to the project Woodroffe was seen as a relatively energy efficient schools because it was a newer school however COOLmob Auditor benchmarking clarified that there is room for improvement.

3 2. BERRY SPRINGS Climate change overview tuned students in to energy use Students audited school and homes Students identified wastage groups responsible for a physical area of the school looking at air conditioning use, computers, lights. Each of the three 6/7 classes buddied up with another class for classroom audits. Students developed action plans for what they needed to do after identifying wastage actions for adopting new practices, promoting these and educating others about these processes. Students involved in delamping one classroom as a test to get room to right levels, then calculated the savings. This demonstration classroom will be used for others to explore and help other classes set themselves up as more energy efficient. Transport was not a focus as it is not an issue as most students catch the school bus. School newsletter articles about the project. Other classes are interested in focusing on waste compost, recycling piggy backing on wildlife park recycling system. Three year 6/7 classes undertook the School Energy Blitz project at this school. A number of potential savings opportunities have been identified and some no cost initiatives have already been undertaken. As part of their lighting audit task to assess the impact on lighting levels one classroom trialled a de-lamping strategy. Based on this trial the students determined that they could easily de-lamp their classroom and maintain light levels above Australian Standards. Other actions which have already produced savings at this school include the switching off of small appliances at the PowerPoint and reduced operating hours of classroom lights. Teachers have observed that students no longer leave classroom lights on during breaks, a practice which occurred consistently prior to the project. Some of the savings opportunities identified for this school so far include: 7t CO2-e/yr by reducing air-conditioner operational times; 3.2t CO2-e/yr by turning off empty refrigerators over weekends and school holidays; 2t CO2-e/yr by reducing stand-by power of small appliances; and 14t CO2-e/yr through energy efficient lighting opportunities. Clare Pries (July 2007) Decision-Making and Recommendations Student proposals produced in the areas of lighting, air conditioning (trial period for push button start 2 hr interval), computers, fridges, based on Clare s school audit report and student auditing.

4 Project cost: $20,150 Estimated savings: $ 2,100 per year Greenhouse gas savings: 8-9 tonnes per year For teachers o The project has engaged reluctant learners and given students opportunity to put maths to use. o Key resources have been identified by teachers and an energy auditing kit will be put together for the school. For students o Initiating behaviour change at school and home, turning lights etc off. For whole school o Not there yet, buddy classes set up. o Recognition that a whole school commitment and approach is needed and the role of students in driving things and decision making. School needs to look at sustainable systems the daily running of the school - live and breathe the whole thing. o Key resources have been identified by teachers and an energy auditing kit will be put together for the school.

5 3. ANULA PRIMARY The school environmental group the Green Ants, and a year 5/6 class worked with Clare from COOLmob to audit the school s lights and appliances. The focus was on Climate change Students auditing electrical appliances and lighting levels at school - recording the light levels of each room and measuring/recording and comparing the level of power consumed by our fridges. Reducing energy and water use at school and at home Students Monitored and recorded leaking/broken taps and cisterns Reported their findings to the appropriate staff. These reports were then acted upon. Received/recorded weekly readings of our power use from the Power and Water Authority Compared these readings to those from last year Recorded both sets of readings as a column graph Reported our progress each week at assembly Promoted the turning off of lights and computers when not in use Created posters, held a poster competition Gave a weekly award at assembly to the best class at switching off lights/computers. Students from year 5/6 explored the phenomenon of Global Warming and the related issues, deciding that it was everyone s responsibility to reduce our green house gas emissions. As part of the program students had to write their own report on global warming, create power and water saving brochures and work in teams to design and build energy efficient model houses. This was done using mostly recycled household materials. School registrar and maintenance officer worked closely with COOLmob auditor and then passed on findings to Green Ants Group who have been raising awareness of these findings. BBQ and Film evening held showing Inconvenient Truth and talk o 30 parents attended with their children Earth Hour lights out campaign advertised targeting families, government departments and schools. Supporters signed up on the school website. Progress reports each week at whole school assemblies Media coverage for the cheque handover with ministers attending as well as NT News, The Sun newspaper, ABC radio (student interview) and Department of Employment Education and Training s Media and Marketing Division

6 The group of students undertaking the School Energy Blitz project at Anula ranged from years 3 to 7, and are part of the schools environmental sustainability working group. Given the age of these students and the limited time that could be allocated to the project it was determined that it was unlikely that they could effectively audit their school without substantial assistance. Regardless of these limitations the students helped to collect data and promote the project which has resulted in behavioural changes and reduced energy consumption within their school. In addition, students encouraged the local community to join in a Lights Out campaign held at the school to promote awareness of energy use. Clare Pries Decision-Making and Recommendations Cleaners hot water units to be put on timers Fans purchased for teachers to use when they come in at weekends instead of running air conditioning Proposal has the potential for a 50% saving in lighting energy Halving of the number of fluorescent tubes in the school by installing reflectors in light fittings to reflect more light out of each fitting and removing every second tube. Project cost: $ 20,160 Estimated savings: $ 4,180 per year Greenhouse gas savings: 17 tonnes per year For teachers o Seeing students empowered and taking the lead more with their learning For students o Awareness and behaviour change o Recognition of their efforts For whole school o More awareness of the issue and the effective teaching and learning opportunities provided by such a focus 4. HUMPTY DOO Year 4/5 students audited their homes - appliances, lights, fans, power points etc audited the school - appliances, lights, fans, power points etc interviewed an older person about energy uses in "the olden days" identified ways as to how to reduce their own energy consumption in their homes identified ways as to how to reduce their own energy consumption at school explored alternative energy in a practical way - made solar powered cars

7 focus on energy conservation embedded in school strategic plan and will be continued and built on throughout the school in 2008 School energy management policy developed Registrar and principal involved in project Energy and recycling will be a focus of the school s curriculum map Two year 4/5 classes started a unit of work on energy use at this school mid term 3. Unfortunately the time available to the teacher who had taken the project on board and was the main driver for its implementation was restricted; as a result the school audit was limited to the student s classroom only. Students did however identify some general opportunities which when applied to the whole school should provide good energy savings. The enthusiasm shown by the principal and teacher taking over the project implementation, and, the inclusion of school energy management into the schools strategic management plan should ensure that this school achieves good savings in the coming year. Technical and behavioural changes at this school should provide savings of around 24t CO2/yr. Clare Pries (November 2007) Decision-Making and Recommendations Students auditing contributed to recommendations presented by COOLmob auditor to school staff Roof painting Project cost: $ 20,040 Estimated savings: $ 2, 050 per year Greenhouse gas savings: 8-9 tonnes per year For students o Awareness of how to save energy For whole school o Energy focus embedded into all key aspects of school learning, decision making policy/strategic plan, curriculum 5. DRIPSTONE MIDDLE SCHOOL 9 year 8 classes involved as part of Integrated Studies Unit of Work as an initial trial as part of Middle Years Home energy use was the big focus for most classes, some areas of the school were audited by students (lux lighting audit) and some classes focused on personal transport. Student groups presented their work in a variety of ways focusing on some specific aspects e.g. standby refrigerators and role plays were filmed. COOLmob auditor presented and led discussion with all student groups and staff

8 Media coverage of cheque presentation early 2008 Staff presentation by COOLmob auditor and DPI re the project and energy use School Environmental Management Plan developed and will be taken to staff for endorsement Whole staff session planned for 2008 to develop a behaviour checklist for staff/students re energy use Registrar, maintenance officer and principal involved in project By the end of term 3, eight middle year classes at this school had undertaken a unit of work on energy use. Whilst half of these classes focused primarily on identifying energy saving opportunities at the school the other half focused on home and transport energy use. At the completion of the term students groups representing each class presented their findings and recommendations to each other and the school staff. Opportunities identified by the students included reducing stand-by power, adjusting the start time of the gym air-conditioning system, reducing the amount of time some refrigerating units are on, turning off lights not activated by occupancy sensors, turning off fans in staff area when not required, and keeping the doors to the air-conditioned gym closed at all times. In 2008 the students and staff at this school will promote the behavioural changes necessary to achieve the savings identified through these actions. Though this school has been identified as one of the lowest users of energy (based on kwh per m 2 ) for Darwin based learning institutions, the technical and behavioural savings identified through this project should provide around 82t CO2-e/yr in green house gas savings. Clare Pries (November 2007) Decision-Making and Recommendations Student auditing findings contributed to recommendations for lighting changes that would result in savings. Proposal identifies a % saving in lighting energy o Installing voltage reduction devices in open plan and library lighting circuits will save % energy use in these areas whilst only reducing light output by %. These units provide full voltage at start-up and then reduce voltage, and energy consumption until the next switching operation. As fluorescent lamps are now 20% brighter than they were, many opportunities exist for voltage reduction. o Installing control switches to ensure lights aren t left on when they are not needed. Project cost: $ 17,280 Estimated savings: $ 3,570 per year Greenhouse gas savings: 14 tonnes per year For teachers and students

9 o Seeing education process continued as both staff and students took their learning home and applied it to make savings and were eager to talk about what they were doing and finding out For whole school o 6. MALAK Energy use seen as a whole school issue seeing the need for a SEMP which was developed out of the recommendations and the need to develop behavioural guidelines around energy use Two year 6/7 classes had a major focus on energy use in a unit of work earlier in the year and came to the Energy Blitz project towards the end of term 3 Students from the two year 6/7 classes commenced their school auditing in the second half of term 3. A concerted effort by the students and teachers involved enabled them to undertake a school audit and recommend energy efficiency actions by the end of the term. Prior commitments to other projects and responsibilities for the teacher primarily responsible for the schools participation in the project, has limited efforts at promoting findings to the whole school community. The school leadership, registrar and maintenance officer are very supportive of the initiative and this will ensure that monitoring and an ongoing commitment are a focus for 2008 Some of the savings opportunities identified by the students at this school included the use of time control switches for the lights in student toilets, the reduction in stand-by power, increasing the temperature setting in some of the refrigerators, de-lamping and the use of more efficient lights, and the use of smaller air-conditioning systems for after hours use. The students also recommended that composting and a student garden be established to reduce the amount of waste needed to be removed from the school. It is likely that at least 20t CO2-e/yr could be saved at this school. Clare Pries (November 2007) Decision Making and Recommendations Student auditing contributed to final recommendations in Malak s proposal Project cost: $ 14, 000 Estimated savings: $ 2, 273 per year Greenhouse gas savings: 11 tonnes per year

10 For whole school Funding available to implement the energy saving strategies identified at the school