Creating an Energy Ethic

Blog by Jim Brown, NBCT, CEM
7/8 STEM Teacher, Sand Creek
On-site Energy Manager

There are various reasons for instituting an energy management program.  It might be to reduce expenditures on utilities, or perhaps reduce carbon emissions and help the environment.  Still yet, it might be to use your facilities as a learning lab by connecting what is taught in the school curriculum to operating a building. Maybe some or all of these apply to your situation. Whatever the reason, the hope is that users of the facility will be active participants in reducing energy consumption. You want users to reduce as part of their routine because it is the right thing to do and not because someone is looking over their shoulder. My job as an energy manager is to look for ways to reduce energy consumption and implement those ideas. Recently one of our custodians came to me and asked, “Wouldn’t it make sense to turn off the new marquis sign at night?” I agreed with him, thanked him for his idea, and let him know I would look into it. Turns out, having the sign off from 11:45 PM to 5 AM was easy to implement with a simple change to a program, – and – the savings for implementing it at this one location was over $900 per year! Our district has three of these signs.  A home run by one of our custodians! This is just one example of how users of our facilities have demonstrated their energy ethic. What examples have you seen where you work?

Author Bio: Jim Brown has over 25 years teaching experience at the middle school level, and has carved out a niche as a STEM teacher and a certified energy manager, specializing in energy management and auditing of educational facilities. Follow Jim Brown on X at @MrSTEMBrown.