Washington school districts are taking the road to energy efficiency, redirecting the savings back into the classroom. Washington school districts like Pasco and Bellingham are on the path to sustainability. Both have installed energy-efficient equipment cutting costs on their monthly energy bills and earning cash rebates from Cascade Natural Gas. According to Pasco’s energy manager John Weatherby “we are very energy conscious at the district so it made sense to go this route.”
Pasco High School decided to redo their gymnasium roof and discovered Cascade’s rebate program on insulation. “It was the perfect opportunity and we want to use every dollar as wisely as we can,” says Weatherby. Proper insulation saves an abundance of energy by reducing conductive heat loss and heat gain, resulting in warmer interior surfaces in winter and cooler interior surfaces in summer. The money and energy saved as a result of these measures plus the rebates made conservation an easy decision for Pasco.
The Bellingham School District is on the road to green savings with seven new tankless water heaters installed at three schools. The rebate they received from Cascade helped offset the project’s cost. “We calculated that the energy savings will pay for the change to tankless from conventional storage systems, but the rebate makes the payback happen much quicker,” says Mike Anderson, facility manager for Bellingham School District. The payback is not the only benefit the district is looking forward to. According to Anderson, “our staff is excited about the change. For our maintenance people, the change to tankless promises less maintenance on operational aspects of storage type heaters.”
Both schools are looking forward to prospective energy savings that will boost their bottom line. Weatherby says, “committing to sustainable practices is a way to help us save money and every dollar we can save is a dollar towards teachers or books.” Combined, both schools projected energy savings are $6,463.75 a year and their rebates add up to a whopping $14,731.00. According to Anderson, “savings translate to an increase in our budget to do other things and gives the staff positive feedback that what we do makes a difference.”
Pasco School District
Savings
$11,739 Cash Rebate
$4,910 Annual Gas Savings
Energy Issues
High Utility Bills
Solution
Roof Insulation
Bellingham School District
Savings
$3,489 Cash Rebate
$2,162 Annual Savings (based on rates at time of retrofit)
Energy Issues
High Energy Usage
Solution
Tankless Water Heaters