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A Few Clouds Valley Stream districts explore energy savings
Two Valley Stream school districts will soon become more energy efficient. Officials in elementary Districts 13 and 30 have decided to go ahead with energy performance contracts, an initiative that will save the schools money long-term.
District 30 has selected Johnson Controls as its energy contractor. Currently, representatives from the company are doing a detailed energy audit of the three elementary buildings. They will come back to school officials with a series of recommendations on how to improve energy efficiency in the district.
Lisa Rutkoske, the assistant superintendent for business, said officials from Johnson Controls already identified some potential projects in their initial tour of the buildings. Some major initiatives include more energy efficient lighting, motion sensors, new boiler controls and window film.
Rutkoske said some of the light fixtures in the building could be retrofitted, instead of being replaced, with new ballasts and light bulbs that would use less electricity. Motion sensors would turn off lights in a room that is not occupied and film on the windows would help keep more heat in the building.
The district replaced all the windows in its three schools this past summer.
District 13 last did an energy performance contract about eight years ago, according to Meredith Brosnan, assistant superintendent for business. That was just to replace lighting in the four schools, an initiative she said was very successful.
This time around, District 13 is looking to replace the boilers in its buildings through an energy contract. “This would be a way to fund it without any impact on the taxpayers,” Brosnan said.
While districts do have to pay for the work upfront, it makes the money back through a combination of state aid and energy savings. A district take the money it would have budgeted for energy costs and instead use that to pay off the debt from a project. Energy contracts are considered “budget neutral.” An energy contract must show that a project will pay off within 18 years, or it will not be approved by the state Education Department.
Both Brosnan and Rutkoske said the projects planned in their respective districts would be paid off after 17 years. Once the debt is paid off, the districts will realize true financial savings from the energy initiatives.
Rutkoske said that while it does take some time for the true savings to kick in, the district does get to enjoy upgraded facilities without making an impact on the budget or residents’ wallets.
District 30 officials began contemplating an energy contract after completing a five-year building condition survey, which identified about $7 million in potential construction projects, repairs and renovations. “You’ve got to find a way to fund those initiatives,” Rutkoske said, “or you just don’t do it.”
The energy contract will take care of about $1.8 million of that work, which Rutkoske said will free up money for other projects.
District 13 is looking at a more costly energy project, about $5.6 million. The bulk of that is the replacement of 11 boilers, which cost several hundred thousand dollars a piece. Brosnan said the boilers are original in all four schools, including at Wheeler Avenue which is nearly 90 years old.
“We’ll now have modern, state of the art boilers,” Brosnan said, adding that the district won’t have to worry about shelling out money for an emergency repair. Additionally, she said, all the boilers will have the ability to run off of oil or natural gas, so the district can use whichever fuel is cheaper at the time. National Grid has committed to running a gas line to Willow Road School, she said.
Some small projects to be included in the energy contract include the replacement of original basement windows at Wheeler Avenue, weather stripping around doors and new heating controls.
Brosnan said that state aid should pay for about half of the project. District 13’s energy contractor, Consolidated Edison Solutions, has estimated annual energy savings of about $200,000. She is hoping to have plans approved in the fall so work can begin in the summer of 2013.
Rutkoske said there is another reason to consider an energy contract beyond simply upgrading the buildings. “You do want to be green,” she said. “You do want to be conscious of the environment.”
