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Ten Schools in Community Energy Challenge Municipalities Receive ENERGY STAR Designation

Release Date: 01/14/2009
Contact Information: Dave Deegan 617-918-1017

(Boston--January 14, 2009) – Today, EPA is recognizing ten schools in Community Energy Challenge Municipalities in New England that have earned the prestigious ENERGY STAR label for superior energy performance.

“We’re excited to see these schools set the pace for others in New England and the nation,” said Robert W. Varney, regional administrator for EPA New England. “It is critical for us to reduce energy consumption in all buildings and these schools are role models for the region.”

The ten schools are in the Massachusetts communities of Medfield, Quincy and Woburn, each of which has committed to EPA’s Community Energy Challenge. Under EPA’s Community Energy Challenge, these communities have pledged to assess energy use, improve energy efficiency, save money and work to expand renewable energy choices. To date, 125 communities representing nearly 30% of New England’s population have signed up for the Challenge.

Schools that earn the ENERGY STAR label are the top performers for energy efficiency nationwide. In fact, schools that earn the ENERGY STAR label cost forty cents per square foot less to operate than the average performers.

The specific schools receiving this distinction in 2008 include:

Medfield: Wheelock School.

Quincy: Lincoln Hancock Elementary, Snug Harbor Community School, Sterling Middle School, North Quincy High School and Quincy High School.

Woburn: Altavesta Elementary School, Clapp Elementary School, Linscott-Rumford Elementary School and Shamrock Elementary School.

The three Massachusetts municipalities used a variety of measures to achieve this distinction for their schools. The City of Quincy worked with Honeywell International, an energy service company, to improve energy efficiency in their public schools and other city buildings.

Woburn, on the other hand, reduced their energy consumption by following recommendations from their newly established Woburn Clean Energy Committee. These recommendations included: upgrading lighting fixtures, lighting sensors and timers, switching to variable speed motors, regulating natural gas burners to increase efficiency, and powering down of computers and peripherals by request of the Mayor McLaughlin of Woburn.

Medfield formed its Energy Committee last March to look at the Town’s energy use and see if the Town could save money and improve the environment through more efficient use of energy resources. Using Portfolio Manager, a web-based ENERGY STAR benchmarking tool, all of
Medfield’s energy data - electric, gas and oil bills – has been entered to determine how Medfield’s buildings measured up against other buildings nationwide. The Wheelock School was the top performing school. The Medfield Energy Committee continues to track energy use, and is working to determine what effective energy efficiency measures can be implemented to save the Town energy and money.

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 50 different kinds of products, new homes, and commercial and industrial buildings. Products and buildings that have earned the ENERGY STAR designation prevent greenhouse gas emissions by meeting strict energy efficiency specifications set by the government. In 2007 alone, Americans, with the help of ENERGY STAR, saved approximately $16 billion on their energy bills while reducing the greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those of 27 million vehicles.

For more information on ENERGY STAR, go to: www.energystar.gov

To learn more about EPA’s Community Energy Challenge, visit: https://www.epa.gov/region1/eco/energy/energy-challenge.html .