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SALT LAKE CITY — A pledge to save energy turned into much more in the Salt Lake School District. Three schools decided to be more energy efficient and saw big returns.
The challenge was Go Green Get Green, and for five months the staff and students at Salt Lake's three high schools — East, Highland, and West — went above and beyond to conserve energy. The goal was to reduce power consumption by up to 30 percent.
Teachers, staff, custodians and students all worked on everything from flipping off lights to powering down computers and copiers, to timing heating and cooling systems better.
District Energy and Resource Manager Greg Libecci said they ended up decreasing consumption by 21 percent.
"The less natural gas we burn in our boilers and furnaces, the less we contribute to that soup (air pollution). Let's make less soup," Lebecci said.
The savings added up to 1.15 million pounds of CO2, which is like taking 115 cars off the road, Libecci said.
The schools were awarded back 75 percent of the money in savings from their utility bills, which totaled about $12,000 per school, according to Libecci.
- East High - $14,646
- Highland High - $11, 721
- West High - $12,806
Now they hope to continue the good work by making it a cultural change, and expanding the programs to middle and elementary schools.
Libecci said they put in technology tricks like making computers power down.
"At a certain time in the night they go into hibernation mode," he explained. "Even during the day, if you are not in front of your computer for 10 minutes the screen goes to sleep, saving 30 percent of the energy."
Superintendent McKell Withers praised the effort.
"With a few simple acts of conservation, we are able to direct more taxpayer funds to student learning instead of utility costs," he said.
