| Adams, Bloomingdale, Brentwood, Fairfield, Harris and Scott Academy elementary schools as well as Wayne High School, earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) ENERGY STAR certification, which signifies the buildings perform in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency and meet strict energy efficiency performance levels set by the EPA. These schools join Northrop and South Side high schools and Lakeside and Portage middle schools and Holland Elementary on the ENERGY STAR list. FWCS expects to add more schools in the future.
"Fort Wayne Community Schools has worked hard to ensure that our schools are safe learning environments for students,” said Steve Smethers, FWCS Coordinator Energy Management. "Earning the ENERGY STAR rating is an indication that we are committed to making sure our systems operate at an efficient level and provide the greatest benefit to students. This process not only ensures that we are saving money, but we are making the school environment a healthier place for students to work.” Commercial buildings that earn EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification use an average of 35 percent less energy than typical buildings and also release 35 percent less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. FWCS improved its energy performance by implementing energy-saving strategies and by making cost-effective improvements to its buildings. Districtwide, FWCS’ energy-use reductions for 2014 equated to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of 26,215 metric tons of carbon dioxide, which is equivalent to the energy of 5,519 personal vehicles or 2,391 homes. To earn the ENERGY STAR, Fort Wayne Community Schools took the following actions: Developed a strategic energy management plan Educated staff on best practices Used building control systems to effectively program buildings Audited and followed up routinely to access performance and discover opportunities EPA’s ENERGY STAR energy performance scale helps organizations assess how efficiently their buildings use energy relative to similar buildings nationwide. A building that scores a 75 or higher on EPA’s 1-100 scale may be eligible for ENERGY STAR certification. Among the latest round of schools to earn the rating, Bloomingdale had the highest score with a 98; Harris received a score of 96; Wayne received a score of 88; Brentwood and Fairfield received 85; and Adams and Scott came in at 78. ENERGY STAR was introduced by EPA in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. Today, the ENERGY STAR label can be found on more than 65 different kinds of products, 1.4 million new homes, and 20,000 commercial buildings and industrial plants that meet strict energy-efficiency specifications set by the EPA. Over the past twenty years, American families and businesses have saved more than $230 billion on utility bills and prevented more than 1.8 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions with help from ENERGY STAR. |
For more information about ENERGY STAR Certification for Commercial Buildings: www.energystar.gov/labeledbuildings
