In Your School . . .
Expert Links
- Efficient Building Operation
- Windows
- Appliances and Light Bulbs
- Commissioning Resources-Large Buildings
- Energy Performance Contracting
Efficient Building Operation
- Pre-qualified PBA Analyst list
- Pre-qualified Retro-Commissioning Authority List
- The American School Board Journal is an award-winning, editorially independent education magazine published monthly by the National School Boards Association. Founded in 1891, American School Board Journal chronicles change, interprets issues, and offers readers -- some 40,000 school board members and school administrators -- practical advice on a broad range of topics pertinent to school governance and management, policy making, student achievement, and the art of school leadership. In addition, regular departments cover education news, school law, research, and new books.
- DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Energy Smart Schools provides a good overview of why and how to set up an energy program.
- EnergyStar programs for schools are sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency.
- EnergyIdeas - This site's Q and A section, on the Solutions page, is good for most topics. Energy Ideas is sponsored by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance and the Washington State University Cooperative Extension Service Energy Program.
- The Building Commissioning Association is a Pacific Northwest professional association and there are members in Montana. They can tell you about commissioning a building, a process that can tell you how efficiently or inefficiently your building is operating. HVAC systems can be out of balance, or energy controls out of adjustment, but these problems may not be obvious. Commissioning evaluates how well a building’s systems work together, then recommends improvements. Commissioning can reduce energy use, lower repair and replacement costs, and improve air quality, lighting and comfort.
- Energy analysts, and anybody wanting to compare their buildings' usage to national figures, might be interested in the Energy Information Administration’s Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey.
- News and information pertinent to facility operators and managers is available at http://www.facilitiesnet.com/.
- These sites offer information on performance contracting, one way to evaluate possibilities for energy improvements in buildings and to finance the ones that will save money
http://escperform.org/index.htm
http://www.naesco.org
Windows
Experts say that proper daylighting can increase student performance, but improper window design can lead to higher energy bills in warm and cold climates. New window designs should weigh beneficial daylighting against heat control and heat loss. Here are some links to sites that help evaluate window design and energy efficient windows.
- The Efficient Windows Collaborative, part of the Alliance to Save Energy, works with the window industry and the Department of Energy's laboratories. This site focuses on energy-efficient windows.
- The National Fenestration Rating Council is the nation's recognized organization for measuring and evaluating window energy performance. This site has a good description of windows and how they work.
- For a quick fact sheet on all aspects of windows, see DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network.
- For those who want to delve into the more technical details of windows, try Lawrence Berkeley Labs.
- List of window manufacturers in the Pacific Northwest.
- The Lighting Design Lab helps architects design daylighting into new and existing buildings.
Appliances and Light Bulbs
- Savings calculator for light bulbs and all sorts of appliances, sponsored by EPA.
- DOE has good but technical information on compact fluorescent bulbs.
- The Federal Energy Management Program puts out product efficiency recommendations for federal procurement officials, but the advice is good for schools, too.
- American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy prepares a list each year of the most energy efficient appliances.
- Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute provides efficiency ratings for all sorts of gas appliances.
- The Lighting Design Lab has information about new lighting technology.
