1. Water and energy management in schools

2. Water management in schools

3. Is your school water efficient?
A water efficient primary school uses between 3-9 litres a student a day
A water efficient secondary school uses between 9-12 litres a student a day

4. How much does water cost?
water costs $2.01 a kilolitre
Schools also pay for waste water.
Sydney Water has info sheets on how to read water bills and undertake a water audit.
Undetected leaks in schools can
account for up to 70% of water use.

5. Where is water used in schools?

6. Educating and managing for water efficiency
School water management can be
Improved by:
Analysing water bills and determining school water efficiency eg via a water use calculator and DEC benchmarks.
Conducting a water audit eg Sydney Water has a DVD on how to do it.
Regular monitoring of the meter to check for leaks – templates are available through Asset Management/Curriculum websites and through Sydney Water
Other initiatives?
Note: Stormwater can also be a sustainability issue in schools leading to direct impacts on local waterways. Stormwater can be managed and taught as an aspect of waste or water education by conducting a stormwater drain audit, spraying positive signs on drains, conducting litter surveys and educating students about where waste goes.

7. School water saving actions
Improve school water efficiency by:
Reporting and fixing leaks
Using water from a tank to irrigate and flush toilets
Mulching gardens
Monitoring meters
Using a smart meter (eg Watersave)
Putting water saving signs in toilets
Upgrading and modifying water appliances

8. Water efficiency education programs
Observatory Hill EEC -Water Wiseguys program
See Observatory Hill EEC and Sydney Water website for more details

9. Energy management in schools

10. Energy costs
Electricity is a major cost for schools, and like domestic electricity, costs are set to rise. Items like smartboards and the DEC laptop rollout are contributing to rising energy cost.
For example, a connected classroom costs $800 per year to run and 24/7 and would emit 5,000 kgs of C02. The controls console would cost an additional $400 pa.

11. Energy Benchmarking Total average - 1.78kWh per student per day
NSW DEC Energy efficiency – electricity consumption
Total average kWh per student per day
Total average per head kWh per annum
Primary school average – 278 kWh per student per year
Secondary School average kWh per student per year
Each 100 kWh of electricity= 100 kg of CO2 (greenhouse gas)

12. Energy Efficiency
Greenhouse gas emissions have implications for Climate change. The ‘Heat is on’ DVD is available for all secondary schools and through Observatory Hill EEC Website
Energy benchmarking – Webgraphs are available from Energy Australia
Watts Workout
Lighting audit - Light meter
Holiday shutdown guide
‘Be cool not cold‘- aircon guide

13. With our increased use of technology enhanced learning, we need to consider how we can support DEC’s targets to reduce our schools carbon footprints?
Webgraphs supplied by Energy Australia enable the ‘Bill Busters’ to monitor the success of the WOW Plan!
Your schools user name is and password is
Watch Our watts - a curriculum project for Stage 3 focussing on a design brief for school energy efficiency . 13

14. Energy efficiency strategies
Lighting audit – lets you know if rooms are over lit so excess bulbs can be removed
Monitoring school Webgraphs – a visual representations of how much energy is being used
Holiday shutdown guide

15. Course activities
Watts Workout – a game to show how much energy different appliances use?
Powermate – a device which shows the kilowatt hours of appliances

16. Energy efficiency education programs
There are opportunities to use the DEC Sustainability Action Process in energy efficiency programs like:
Watch Our Watts Observatory Hill EEC’s Energy Efficiency program
Carbon Kids - CSIRO
Climate Clever Energy Savers – A DEC energy efficiency program