District has saved $12M in energy costs, report says

According to a presentation to the Board of Education on the conservation of energy in the Walled Lake Consolidated School District, the district has avoided $11.87 million in expenses from February 2004 through January 2011 after implementing energy conserving measures.

Judy Evola, a spokesperson for the school district, said the district started the program back in 2004 by monitoring the district’s energy consumption.

“We wanted to make sure that the majority or the largest portion of funds possible from the state went into the classrooms and not back to the energy companies,” she said. “We also looked at the environmental benefits and began teaching students about the conservation and awareness of natural resources.”

According to the report, from 2004-2011, energy costs were expected to increase almost 30 percent. However, the school district actually saw a 16-percent decrease in costs after implementing energy saving measures such as eliminating energy waste; reducing energy consumption and containing costs; monitoring building usage during occupied times; tracking and analyzing consumption for building efficiency; monitoring utility bills for overcharges or errors; creating an energy-conscious culture within the district; and maintaining the energy policy and guidelines.

This resulted in a 36.7-percent reduction in electrical consumption, a 31.6-percent reduction in natural gas consumption, and a 38.5-percent reduction in water consumption to reduce the overall energy consumption of the district by 32 percent, according to the presentation.

It has been a districtwide effort, according to Evola.

“The staff and students have contributed greatly to the effort. We are going to continue to communicate how important energy conservation and care of natural resources really is with the students and staff.”