In the October 2016 edition of Facility Maintenance Decisions magazine, annual achievement awards were announced and Westerville City Schools earned the Financial Management Award. By updating building automation systems, converting to LEDs for interior and exterior lighting, and retrofitting the HVAC system, doors and windows, the school district has documented more than $15 million in cost avoidance in nine years with its utility costs.
Tim O’Brien, Environmental, Health and Safety Manager for the school district, submitted the application, saying his team’s biggest challenge is to contribute to learning environments that ensure the safety, health and well-being of students and staff, and to do so while being prudent with taxpayer money. “We have learned to better utilize our automated building controls and have completed many facility upgrades throughout our district that have significantly contributed to our energy savings,” he explained.
O’Brien concluded, “Westerville City Schools continue to strive to find better ways to monitor and reduce our energy usage without compromising an optimum environment for educating our students. Throughout this journey, we have done more than simply upgrade our facilities or infrastructure. Staff and students alike now realize that being energy-conscious yields dividends beyond the cost savings we achieve as a district. We are changing people’s behaviors and have become a learning community that truly understands the importance of being good stewards of the environment.”
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