Original article posted October 28, 2009 by www.nj.com
BRIDGEWATER — If you walk away from a computer monitor at Eisenhower Intermediate School and leave it on, you’re probably going to take some heat from the “SEE Squad.”
The squad, a group of students who are part of a statewide “Schools for Energy Efficiency” program and Eisenhower’s environmental club, checks school rooms daily for empty lighted rooms, unused computers and other energy wasters.
If the 45 students involved in the squad catch a light or computer using up unneeded energy, they put sticky notes on the culprit.
“Oooooops! Don’t forget to shut me off,” reads the note.
Five sixth-grade members of this SEE Squad demonstrated their energy know-how on Wednesday morning at a press conference held by the Somerset County Board of Chosen Freeholders at Eisenhower School.
Freeholders and local officials presented information about a county-wide energy audit program at the conference, and at the end, the sixth graders used wattage readers to test how much energy appliances and lights around the room used up on a yearly basis.
One group, composed of Sarah Bender, Nikki Singh and Jacqueline Chang, all 11 years old, found that a cell phone charger used about four hours a day costs a total $6.24 a year in energy costs.
A fan kept on for two hours a day in a classroom, on the other hand, would cost $26.97, they calculated.
Added up and multiplied by the number of classrooms in a single school, items the sixth graders tested, like the fan, cell phone, radio, flood light and overhead projector, add up.
Sixth graders Jacqueline Chang and Sarah Bender (standing) test the energy usage of a standard box fan while classmate Nikki Singh records readings.
“There are so many things that draw energy and you don’t know it,” said Zachary Hansen, 11, of the squad. “Teachers are like, “What?” because they don’t even realize it.”
To reduce energy costs, three Bridgewater-Raritan Schools are taking part in the Energy Audits Program in the county, announced by the freeholders in 2008 when they established the county’s energy council.
Energy consultants are finishing audits of 84 municipal buildings, police stations, fire stations and school buildings, and Freeholder Robert Zaborowski said he expects the results by the end of this year.
The three schools in Bridgewater-Raritan are Bridgewater-Raritan High School, Adamsville Elementary School and Eisenhower. They cover more than 615,000 square feet and serve 4,275 students and 525 staff, Zaborowski said.
Schools generally use up a lot of energy from lights in classrooms and hallways, and through ventilation that circulates outside air throughout the building, said William Amann, chairman of the energy council.
Energy audits are like blueprints for buildings, showing what needs to be done to reduce energy costs. They give recommendations like replacing lights with more efficient models, using motion sensors in rooms, replacing air conditioning units and heaters, and fixing windows and roofs.
For the three schools combined, the energy consultants predict savings of $292,300 annually from such measures. Electricity and natural gas for the schools currently cost $1.12 million a year, according to Zaborowski.
The school district has already won two national awards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and realized cost-avoidance savings of $314,000 during one year of tracking by changing light bulbs and installing solar panels.
Superintendent Michael Schilder, who spoke at Wednesday’s press conference, said it’s up to the students to help improve the school.
“Frankly, adults can’t do it alone when it comes to saving the planet, when it comes to long-term, big-time energy savings,” Schilder said, addressing the five students in the room. “You’re the ones who are really going to have to pick up the ball and run with it.”
Connie Coriell, the energy efficiency coordinator for Bridgewater-Raritan School District, said students have even started bringing to their homes what they’ve learned through participating in the SEE Squad.
“I heard from some parents about their children doing dishes in the dark” to save energy, Coriell said.
The SEE Squad doesn’t just berate energy wasters, though. If you’ve been good and turned off all your lights, you could also get a congratulatory note from the club.
“Wow!” the sticky note says. “Thanks for saving energy.”
By: Amanda Peterka
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