Colorado School District Saves $1.3 Million With Energy Program

LOVELAND, Colo. — Thompson School District saved more than $1.3 million in operating costs during the last three years due to a districtwide energy savings program.

In 2003, Winona Elementary and Turner Middle School entered a three-year energy savings performance contract with Siemens Building Technologies Inc. to increase energy efficiency and lower operations costs. The company benchmarked and tracked energy use at the district’s 35 buildings before implementing energy-efficient improvements at the two schools.

Energy savings from the performance contract were monitored using an Energy Star benchmarking tool, Portfolio Manager, which provided energy-tracking and benchmarking information to help raise staff awareness of energy use and help streamline operations.

During the three-year period, energy and water savings amounted to 7.7 million kilowatt hours of electricity, 334,032 cubic feet of natural gas and 79,966 kGal of water, according to district officials.

Energy and water savings resulted in $557,000 in avoided electricity costs, $267,117 in natural gas costs and $200,746 in treated water costs.

Siemens achieved a 10+ rating point increase in energy efficiency, as measured by the Energy Star benchmarking tool. The company also received two certificates of achievement from the National Association of Energy Service Companies for its work with the school district.