Energy performance plan paying off

By Ashley Vasquez

Matt Frye/The Smithville Herald file photo
Thanks to the replacement of heating and cooling units and ventilation last summer throughout Smithville High School electric bills are down about 24 percent. Pictured is a contracted worker who is replacing ductwork in the classrooms.

The Smithville R-II School District has some of the “greenest” facilities in the community and has plans to continue the trend of being environmentally friendly.

Last year, the district’s Board of Education approved the implementation of $1.9 million lease/purchase energy conservation plan brought forth by Custom Energy.

The plan included new HVAC units, adding a circulation system to the primary school, new energy-efficient windows, thermostat control systems, energy efficient lighting, new toilets and light sensors. However, the projects aren’t actually costing the district nearly that much since most of the improvements will be paid off through energy savings that the improvements themselves create. The company also guarantees a percentage of savings and will repay any savings up to a certain percent that aren’t obtained.

Readings of the district’s energy outputs from the past six to nine months have shown considerable savings, said Wayne Krueger, assistant superintendent of support services.

Some of the readings include a reduction in water usage of up to 31 percent and gas and electricity savings up to 24 percent. Krueger said he was pleased with the savings so far.

“The savings have been really good,” he said. “We have to take into account the age of the building and the construction projects.

“For example, our savings at the Upper Elementary School have been the least because the building is the newest, which means we didn’t make as many changes with the energy plan, and construction this winter has kept the units running more than ever. But, I think our bills would have been much higher than they were without the improvements we made.”

Krueger said that the district would now be applying for Energy Star status, which will make it eligible for grants and low-interest loans for projects.

“It is important to practice what we preach,” he said. “Our main goal is to save our patrons money but it is also important to give back to the environment and lessen the (environmental) footprint we leave behind. We teach students about being environmentally friendly, and we have to show them we are as well.”

Bethany Engelbrecht, principal at the Primary Elementary School, said the energy savings plan improvements had created a better learning environment.

“The new lighting greatly improved the school,” she said. “It’s better for the kids and better for education.”

Besides the energy performance plan, the district has also implemented other “green” initiatives including the use of many environment-friendly cleaning products.

“We have been using recycled paper products for some time now and are using different types of environmentally safe cleaning products,” he said. “The funny thing is that these products aren’t any more expensive than the regular products and they help us make a difference. We plan to use as many of these types of products that we can in the future because it is the right thing to do.”

Smithville Editor Ashley Vasquez can be reached at 532-4444 or ashleyvasquez@npgco.com.