Our improvements continue!!!

The following is from an email from Mrs. Faux.

I thought you all might be interested in the comparison between March 2008 versus March 2007.

KWH used Energy Cost
March 2008 609,187 $19,502
March 2007 748,942 $17,115

Although we reduced our usage by 139,755 KWH (18.66%), our energy cost increased by $2,387. The good news is that the conservation efforts have continued past February!

It's Easy to be Green!

Here's another good NAIS article:
It's Easy to be Green Seven Steps to a Healthier School.

The Green Schools Climate Commitment

Here is the link to the Climate Commitment Pledge Westminster has signed this Spring.

As part of this, Westminster is currently forming a school sustainability task force (point 2 of the pledge), and the CCC will have a strong leadership presence as the school strives to become more environmentally responsible.

In our continuing efforts, we have also joined the Green Schools Alliance and the US Green Building Council

Bio-diesel

Westminster has started making its own bio-diesel from the cafeteria's waste vegetable oil. The bio-diesel is being used in the school's lawn equipment. It takes 4-5 days to process a batch of waste vegetable oil into bio-diesel and requires several processes. Samples of the waste vegetable oil, as it is being processed into bio-diesel are shown here.

Marist update through February 18th

Marist students, faculty, and staff have posted a 16.0% reduction in energy consumption through the first 18 days of February.  It's estimated that the school has saved over $2500 in energy costs so far.  Congratulations and keep up the good work!

Green Cup Challenge Update

Halfway through the month, the Green Cup Challenge has been a resounding success at Westminster. Through the first 14 days of February, Westminster's energy consumption was down 17.3% from last February. This reduction has brought down the school's energy bill by about $4000 in just two weeks!! Thanks to all who have been participating, and let's keep this up for the rest of the month and beyond!

11 Surprising Ways that Your Building Wastes Energy

This article from building.com shows 11 Surprising Ways that Your Building Wastes Energy.

There are some particularly good hints here. From our own experiences, the first point about powering down computers at the end of each day has been big. With that step alone, we have sometimes realized as much as a 20-25% reduction in our weekend electricity consumption on Sundays when no teachers are around. WARNING: Many people in the habit of walking out of their rooms at the end of the day oblivious to any electronics still powered up are notoriously difficult to reorient. While most faculty have immediately changed their habits, a persistent few continue to leave several items powered up at the end of every day. Bad habits are hard to break.