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Energy Star Award
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October 19, 2017
CCPS Honored with ENERGY STAR Awards
District saves over $300,000 to-date with energy savings plan
Schools will be recognized and honored with ENERGY STAR awards during a School Board Meeting scheduled for Thursday, October 19. An ENERGY STAR award serves as the national symbol for protecting the environment through superior energy efficiency.
"Celebrating our ENERGY STAR status is a result of everyone's hard work to become more energy efficient district-wide. It pays to "go green" as we've seen with recent cost-savings to our budget," says Superintendent Mary Ann Gemmill. "With a budget stretched thin, these cost-savings are a big help and a real benefit to our students and schools. We are honored to receive ENERGY STAR status and serve in the top 25% of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency."
To earn an ENERGY STAR award, Christian County Public Schools worked with Kentucky based energy services company, Harshaw Trane, to update facilities. Water conservation measures, replacing old windows, and installing new HVAC units and controls are all actions included in the district's plan to conserve energy. Updates to school facilities were approved by the Christian County Board of Education in previous meetings.
Christian County Public School’s actual cumulative savings since 2016 equals $315,000 (cumulative electrical savings are 7,102,760 kWh and natural gas 66,201 ccf).
That translates into:
Environmental Pollution Reductions:
- Electric Usage – 2,657,656 kWh
- Demand Savings – 5,466 kW
- Natural Gas Savings – 40,710 Therms
- Water Savings - 4,232,000 gallons
Environmental Pollution Equivalency:
- 680 passenger cars not driven for one year
- 7,032 barrels of oil not burned
- 403 households’ worth of electric use in one year
- 26 acres of trees preserved from deforestation
“Christian County School’s board and administration are committed to providing the best possible learning environment while being fiscally responsible,” said Kyle Johnson, Education Sustainability Leader with Harshaw Trane. “The utilization of Harshaw Trane’s Intelligent Services Sustainability Program has become the foundation for Christian County’s future energy conservation success and we look forward to partnering with the district for many years to come.”
About ENERGY STAR:
ENERGY STAR was introduced by EPA in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. Today, the ENERGY STAR label can be found on more than 60 different kinds of products, new homes, and commercial and industrial buildings. Products and buildings that have earned the ENERGY STAR prevent greenhouse gas emissions by meeting strict energy-efficiency specifications set by the government. Last year alone, Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR, saved nearly $17 billion on their energy bills while reducing the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of 30 million vehicles.
EPA’s ENERGY STAR energy performance scale helps organizations assess how efficiently their buildings use energy relative to similar buildings nationwide. A building that scores a 75 or higher on EPA’s 1-100 scale is eligible for the ENERGY STAR. Commercial buildings that can earn the ENERGY STAR include offices, bank branches, financial centers, retail stores, courthouses, hospitals, hotels, K-12 schools, medical offices, supermarkets, dormitories, houses of worship and warehouses.
