Archive: Around Town

The Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga BOCES Energy Management Service provides a comprehensive and customized approach to district energy consumption and savings by enhancing existing local school district energy management efforts. From tracking consumption to selecting equipment, and everything in between, the service aims to provide quality solutions based on existing conditions, and has a proven record of realizing significant savings for participants.

According to the EPA, one out of every four dollars spent on energy in U.S. schools is wasted. This represents $1.5 billion annually. Since energy costs can total as much as 1.5% to 3.5% of a school district's annual budget, reducing a district's energy expenditures stretches school financial resources.

The Energy Management team at TST BOCES has developed a deep and multi-pronged approach to assist districts in maximizing savings, and begins by evaluating existing conditions. Districts who have aging infrastructure may learn how to maximize HVAC efficiencies, by training staff or recommending system modifications. A district entering into a Capital Project might benefit from the independent engineering review provided by professionals vetted by the service. Tracking consumption at the meter level is a starting point to evaluating current practices in the district and often produces immediate savings with slight and uncostly modifications. At a broader level, analysis of existing energy contracts and agreements provides the ability to negotiate with providers with support from a team of industry professionals.

Currently serving 12 Central New York districts, the TST Energy Management Service has generated more than $1.6 million dollars in grants and sustainable energy savings, with a total net impact of $1.3 million dollars in savings for districts. Through collaborative efforts, clients can access affordable expertise, resulting in cost reductions in current operations and/or cost avoidance in subsequent years. As a result, the average savings per district is $4.82 per dollar invested!.

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