Energy Savings Help School Board Invest in Students and Teachers
(Dartmouth, NS) – At a time when school boards are often faced with operating costs and resource challenges, the South Shore Regional School Board (SSRSB) has found significant savings by taking a closer look at the energy they use.
With help of Efficiency Nova Scotia’s Strategic Energy Management Program, the Bridgewater-based school board is engaging students, teachers, faculty and administrators to help understand energy waste, learn how to spot it and become more aware of the energy they’re using.
The school board is saving over $230,000 annually just from adopting simple energy saving habits, such as turning the heat down outside of regular school hours, turning off lights in rooms that are not in use and turning off air handlers when not needed. These no-cost measures reduce power bills and educate students to conserve energy at school and at home.
Andy Selig, Coordinator of Operations at SSRSB, admits the thought of implementing a school board-wide energy savings initiative was somewhat intimidating, considering they did not have a dedicated energy manager on staff. With guidance from Efficiency Nova Scotia and by engaging students and staff, his fears were quickly diminished.
“I quickly realized after we started the program that anyone can participate, our employees don’t need expertise in energy management,” says Mr. Selig. “Efficiency Nova Scotia helped us through the process and while we’ve realized over 20 per cent in savings, I know there’s still a lot more out there.”
The SSRSB is continuing to educate everyone in their schools to conserve energy in the buildings in which they work and learn. Also participants in Efficiency Nova Scotia’s Green Schools program, SSRSB students are actively learning how to adopt smarter energy habits, contributing to their school’s energy savings.
“The South Shore Regional School Board is just getting started,” says Andrea Henwood, Program Manager at Efficiency Nova Scotia. “They can build on what they’re learning to achieve higher savings in the future. There is always more efficiency to be gained.”
These small changes are saving the SSRSB big money which they happily re-invest in the classroom, enabling them to focus on learning while living a sustainable lifestyle.
Efficiency Nova Scotia is operated by EfficiencyOne, an independent, non-profit organization based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Since 2010, we’ve helped more than 250,000 program participants save energy and money. Efficiency Nova Scotia is your go-to place for energy saving programs and services. To learn more, click to watch Why Energy Efficiency?
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For more information please contact:
David Salter
Communications & Stakeholder Lead, Efficiency Nova Scotia
Phone: 902-470-3513
Mobile: 902-414-5586
Email: dsalter@efficiencyns.ca