Energy Reviews

Although it is true that most of the schools in Australia have given
very little attention in controlling the energy costs, it is high time
that they should give proper importance to it. The changes that are
already brought about in the management and funding in the educational
institutions present a chance to give this a more priority. It is the
area where costs can be greatly reduced, while improving or maintaining
the environment in the school. There can also be reduced emissions of
CO2 if these institutions start to act a bit more responsible in energy
management.

There are different ways of doing it. The way how pupils and staffs use
the school may have a great effect on the electricity bills. Adoption
of good housekeeping practices like switching off the lights when not
needed, closing the windows and checking the heating control setting
regularly can significantly reduce the electricity costs.

Wherever the starting point, improvement is achievable by motivating the
pupils and staffs to adopt good housekeeping measures, identifying
where the investment may achieve worthwhile savings and ensuring whether
the heating system is running at an optimum efficiency and that there
is a boiler maintenance, daily program of checking the thermostats as
well as time switch settings. In fact, the educational institutes that
have adopted these measures have been able to save a lot of amount.
Potential savings range from a few hundred dollars a year in small
primary schools to several thousand dollars in big ones.

Savings
from good housekeeping practices must be the first aim of the
educational institution because these do not involve any kind of capital
expenses but yields immediate results. The educational institutes can
do this by implementing an energy action plan. Though the plan can vary
from one school to another, it can include activities and actions like
monitoring power usage, analyzing data, identifying areas of high
consumption, implementing good housekeeping practices and taking
recommendations for energy efficiency improvements.

There must be an ‘energy efficiency’ survey included in the plan in the
first case and it must thus involve going around the school. A list of
all the equipments that consume more power must be made. Every institute
must have an energy manager and that person must be responsible for
making power savings when boilers or school buildings are in a poor
condition. Each class must have a few pupils nominated as energy
monitors. They should be the ones responsible to turn off the equipments
and lights when not in use, closing the windows etc. About 10-15
percent power savings are achievable readily in most of the schools if
properly managed or handled.

Assistance from energy efficiency
consultants in Melbourne can also be of great help for the institutions.
A professional consultant can do energy auditing and monitor the
schools helping them reduce their power usage thus significantly
reducing their cost of electricity. These consultants sometimes also
help unlocking the government grants, which are available for energy
efficiency and sustainability.