1. Bob McGreevy, PE CEM President EES
PA Public School District Case Study: District “A” EffectivEnergy Solutions, LP “Doing More with Less”
Bob McGreevy, PE CEM
President EES

2. EffectivEnergy Solutions
PA SCHOOL DISTRICT: District "A” Eight Years of Energy & Cost Reduction
Since 2009, the School District “A” has made a concerted effort to reduce energy waste and maintenance costs, establish a healthier, more secure and more environmentally sustainable school environment, and create career-oriented learning opportunities for students.
During this time, absolute annual energy costs declined 60% and energy use dropped 40% in all schools combined (2009 vs 2016, Figs 1 and 2).
Cumulative utility cost savings since 2009 total $4.81 million.
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PA SCHOOL DISTRICT: District “A” Eight Years of Energy & Cost Reduction
As a result, all five schools are now in the 90th percentile of K-12 schools across the country in terms of whole building energy performance, and all five schools have earned the ENERGY STAR certification (Figure 3).
From an environmental perspective, this equates to a 43% reduction in site CO2 emissions in 2016 (2016 vs 2009, Figure 4).
CO2 is a greenhouse gas and is the most significant contributor to climate change.
In addition, the District undertook a district-wide recycling initiative, which further reduced its environmental footprint by increasing recycling rates 12% (from 44% to 56% District-wide).
Figure 3. School District “A” ENERGY STAR scores (by school)
Figure 4. School District “A” site CO2 emissions from energy consumption
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PA SCHOOL DISTRICT: District “A” Eight Years of Energy & Cost Reduction
School District A’s 3-Phase Building Improvement Plan
This impressive display of economic and environmental stewardship is the result of an ongoing building improvement plan managed by the school district’s Maintenance/Facilities Department.
The centerpiece of this plan is a three-phase energy performance contract, which allows the performance contracting firm – in this School District’s case,
CM3 Building Solutions – to guarantee utility cost savings based on projected energy consumption reductions resulting from the building improvement projects. These savings effectively fund the project over time, allowing the District to fund energy-efficiency projects in a cost-neutral manner. This funding model – enabled by the PA Guaranteed Energy Savings Act (GESA) – also allows the district to undertake some nonenergy-related capital improvements, and the District was able to add energy/sustainability education for students as part of the program.
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PA SCHOOL DISTRICT: District “A” Eight Years of Energy & Cost Reduction
The 3 Energy Performance Contracting Phases
The School District “A’s” performance contracting project is intended as a three-phase program, which began with a foundation of basic efficiency and building improvements (phase 1), transitioned to more in-depth efficiency projects and a parallel recycling program (phase 2), and will culminate in clean renewable energy generation to make the district resilient and independent in the face of increasingly unstable weather and utility grid failures (phase 3).
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PA SCHOOL DISTRICT: District “A” Eight Years of Energy & Cost Reduction
Phase 1: The Foundation.
Highlights of phase 1 include:
Lighting retrofits and new lighting controls in all schools, including LED lights in the parking lot lights and high school auditorium, library and cafeteria.
New high-efficiency boilers and pumps in the high school, middle school and Elementary.
New high-efficiency, low-noise water chiller and a new high-efficiency pool heater in the middle school.
New high-efficiency domestic hot water heaters in the high school.
Participation in demand-response programs in the middle and high schools. This helps maintain grid stability and allows the District to receive revenue for reducing electricity use during times of peak demand.
Capital projects. The District upgraded and repaired the heating systems in the high school art rooms and replaced several rooftop units on the middle school, high school, and Elementary
Phase 2: Recycling, Education and Deep Energy Retrofits.
Phase 2 began with a District-wide recycling initiative that, to date, has increased recycling rates 12% Districtwide and saves the District approximately $12,000 annually.
Phase 2 also included energy conservation programming for students as well as in-class energy/sustainability education.
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PA SCHOOL DISTRICT: District “A” Eight Years of Energy & Cost Reduction
Phase 2 (Continued)
Building energy retrofits (currently ongoing) include everything from LED lighting systems to state-of-the-art
HVAC controls and equipment upgrades, as well as several building improvement projects. Here are some project highlights:
All schools: VOC and CO2 sensors for reduced ventilation and superior, healthier indoor air; weatherstripping and air sealing of the building envelope to reduce infiltration; energy education for students, card access systems/cameras for safer entryways; high-efficiency dishwashers and kitchen exhaust hood controls.
High School: LED theatrical and stadium lighting systems and controls, recovery/reuse of waste heat for domestic hot water heating, roof replacement, new Art Room HVAC system.
Middle School: Roof replacement, new high-efficiency condensing boilers, cafeteria expansion.
Elementary School: High-efficiency condensing boilers, waste heat recovery/reuse for domestic hot water heating.
Elementary School: Waste heat recovery/reuse.
Elementary School: Waste heat recovery/reuse. 
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PA SCHOOL DISTRICT: District “A” Eight Years of Energy & Cost Reduction
Phase 3: Clean, Renewable Resilient Energy
The Phase 3 strategy will build on this progress in a fiscally responsible way, and help ensure the District can continue to operate reliably with even less environmental impact.
In fact, the goal of phase 3 will be to eliminate any remaining energy waste so the environmental footprint is as small as possible, and create on-site renewable energy generation and storage systems so the schools operate as close as possible to “net zero.” A net-zero building is an efficient building in which the energy delivered to the site is less than or equal to the on-site renewable energy exported.
Phase 3 will be fully defined in the near future. Preliminary concepts include:
Finalizing the remainder of mechanical upgrades, including high-efficiency, VFD-enabled unit ventilators.
Participating in PECO’s “District A” Township microgrid project, if it progresses forward. This will enable the District to operate from a local electricity grid that operates independently of the main electricity grid and is powered with cleaner renewable energy sources.
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PA SCHOOL DISTRICT: District “A” Eight Years of Energy & Cost Reduction
Installing on-site clean renewable energy generation and storage systems – including parking lot solar photovoltaic canopies that will generate power while shading the lot, and a possible wind power demonstration project behind the middle school. On-site storage will enable the District to stay operational in the case of grid failure and enable more participation in revenue-generating demand response programming.
In addition, the construction of solar parking lot canopies can be approached as an opportunity to evaluate and improve storm water management and may help make the project eligible for grant funding.
Installing building-wide systems that provide control over individual electric circuits, to improve the District’s ability to participate in demand-response programs.
Installing electric vehicle charging stations to support the transition to a cleaner transportation fleet for the district and our families.
Considering solar window shading and solar-reflective or green roofing to reduce air-conditioning loads on school buildings.
As it continues to move toward a vision of net-zero, clean, resilient schools, School District “A” is continuing its legacy of economic and environmental stewardship – and modeling a successful future for our entire community.
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10. Anyone can do More with More Effectiv does More with Less
Cleaner Air with Less Ventilation
More Comfort with Less Controls
Longer Life with Less Maintenance
More Free Space with Smaller Equipment
More Energy Savings with a Lower Cost of Construction
More Renewables with Smaller Carbon Footprints
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11. Bob McGreevy, PE CEM bob@effectiv.us – 610-202-7587
PA Public School District Case Study: District “A” EffectivEnergy Solutions “Doing More with Less”
Bob McGreevy, PE CEM –