News/Press

Times-Union
January 22, 2010

Late-Night Lessons in Saving Energy

Tim O'Brien, Staff Writer
COLONIE -- It's midnight, Jim Brown's wife and children are asleep, and the Sand Creek Middle School teacher is driving back to school from his Stillwater home.

He isn't planning a lesson or trying to get access to the copier when there is no competition. Instead, he will walk the halls, listening for the sounds of water-fountain compressors gone awry. He'll venture downstairs to make sure there are no clanking sounds in the utility control room. And he'll make sure the heat is set at the proper level, and no lights or computers are left on.

As a teacher, Brown was recently honored by President Barack Obama. But he has another role, too, one that sets him on nocturnal rounds to try to keep the district's energy costs low.

Brown is the district's Energy Educator, paid an extra $25,714 a year to keep an eye and ear on utility costs. He writes articles for the faculty newsletter, telling his colleagues how to keep costs down. As a result of his efforts, the district says, it has saved $2.7 million since 2001.

"The biggest, number one thing is to get people to shut down things when they aren't using them," he said. One computer left running can cost $50 in wasted electricity. The district has 1,500.

Brown has keys to all the district's schools and wanders into them in the dead of night, after the last custodian has left, and during breaks. He discovered 100-degree temperatures during one school vacation.

"A big thing is just listening," he said. "You'll hear the compressors go bad in the water fountains. If they go bad, they get very hot."

With a thermal laser thermometer in hand, he can check if any of the motors are overheating. He's found boilers firing improperly and air conditioner fans pulling in outside air during vacations when no room needs to be cooled down.

Brown was one of the first energy educators in the Capital Region but he is not alone. Ravena, Cohoes, Bethlehem and Guilderland are among districts that have them.

"Some of it is trying to put in systems over time that are more efficient, but a lot of it has to do with habits," South Colonie Superintendent Jonathan Buhner said. "Jim's role is to help us with both of those things. He really helps us with being a polite energy policeman."

In 2001, the district contracted with Energy Education, a Texas company that helps schools lower utility bills. The district paid $100,000 in each of the first four years, but Brown said the savings were immediate. The first year, the district lowered its costs by $300,000.

When he started in 2001, the district paid $1.4 million in utility bills. This year, despite additions on four buildings and higher energy costs, the district is paying $1.3 million.

Seven of its 10 schools have earned an Energy Star label from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, signifying that they operate more energy efficiently than 75 percent of the schools in the United States. The district has also received an Energy Leader award.

So where, as a full-time teacher, does he get the energy?

"I just enjoy being busy," Brown said. "If I'm not busy, I'm not happy so it works well."