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Turning off the lights pays

May 21, 2008

A campaign to reduce energy costs has paid off for the Terrell school district.

Working with Energy Education, Inc., the district has saved almost $1.2 million over four years. The company presented an Energy Excellence Award to the district at the Monday board meeting.

“This type of program we’re doing is changing people’s behavior – turning off the light when you leave, turn off your computer at the end of the day,” said Stan Heisel, the district’s technology/energy manager.

Terrell district's projected energy savings

Energy Education tracks the district’s energy use, including electricity, water, sewer, natural gas and fuel oil. The company looks for ways to save on the costs and then provides staff training.

Some districts have approached saving energy by installing new more efficient equipment. That saves money in the long-run but can be very expensive up front, Mr. Heisel said.

The Terrell district has replaced some equipment when it was needed but the emphasis has been on reducing individual use.

He said the program costs have been small compared to the savings.

“We paid considerably less than what we saved,” Mr. Heisel said.


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