According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 25 percent of the energy used in schools is wasted due to inefficient buildings, equipment and operations. This drains an estimated $1.5 billion annually from the nation’s schools, enough money to hire 30,000 teachers.
Since 2006, Honeywell has helped dozens of U.S. school districts beat the budget crunch with energy and operational savings expected to total more than $153 million. The savings are primarily achieved through energy performance contracts, which allow schools to fund facility improvements through the energy and operating savings the upgrades produce over a specified timeframe, typically 10 to 20 years. Honeywell guarantees the results so the work usually doesn’t impact budgets or require additional taxpayer dollars. Combining all active performance contracts, the company is helping hundreds of districts save nearly $372 million.
“Energy and operating costs drain money from budgets – money that would otherwise go directly toward the classroom,” said Paul Orzeske, president of Honeywell Building Solutions. “However, districts rarely have the capital to overhaul their facilities. Our programs help schools boost efficiency without a significant up-front investment.”
Honeywell works closely with schools to develop strategic plans to cut energy costs and emissions, and increase the comfort of classrooms. The company employs a mix of traditional and renewable conservation measures to that end. Examples include:
- Perkins Local School District in Ohio is erecting three 20-kilowatt wind turbines to complement a variety of conventional energy-efficiency measures. The turbines will provide more than 10 percent of the electricity for the middle and high schools. And the overall program is expected to reduce expenses by more than $190,000 each year. The district used the Honeywell Renewable Energy Scorecard, a first-of-its-kind selection tool that helps pinpoint the technology with the most significant environmental and economic drivers, to identify the right green solution for their needs.
- Honeywell has installed solar arrays for school districts in Dixon, Pleasanton, Poway and Riverdale, Calif. These projects are expected to save the districts millions in energy costs. They also will cut annual carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 4.3 million pounds and nitrous oxide emissions by almost 4,000 pounds. According to figures from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, this is equivalent to removing more than 460 cars from the road or planting 575 acres of trees.
For more information on Honeywell energy services, please visit: www.honeywell.com/buildingsolutions/energy.
Watch an overview of Honeywell’s Energy Solutions.
