Climate & Energy

SAVE ENERGY & WATER AT SCHOOL

• BPS ENERGY & WATER USAGE

  The BPS Energy Division utilizes Building Management Systems to monitor and manage all BPS building utilities, and to find efficiency and conservation opportunities while balancing occupancy comfort levels.

  View live BPS energy and water usage at the BPS Energy & Water Usage Dashboard.

  Contact BPS Senior Energy Technologist Elie Nassif, enassif@bostonpublicschools.org or 617-635-9000 ext 41372, to request a school energy or water report.

• BPS SCHOOL ENERGY CONSERVATION

  

  Efforts to conserve energy and water in all schools is essential to managing the escalating costs of utilities and creating a healthy school environment. The Boston Public Schools Energy Division strives to decrease utility consumption in our schools through increased monitoring, equipment upgrades and repairs, and the sharing of energy and water conservation tips with students and school and central office staff.

  Your partnership is vital to the success of these efforts. Use the BPS Energy Education Resource List for teaching and learning about energy.

  Start by posting the “8 Simple Tips” BPS Energy & Water Conservation poster throughout your school! 

  Please note the following measures should be implemented in every BPS building, measures which will have a significant effect on reducing our utility consumption and costs, and most importantly, improve a healthy school environment:

  1. When possible, turn off classroom/office lights to maximize the use of natural light.
  2. Turn off lights when leaving a classroom, office, gym, assembly hall, etc.
  3. Turn off computers and printers when not in use.
  4. Keep fire doors and all exterior doors closed at all times. When possible, keep classroom and gym doors closed.
  5. Keep windows closed during the heating season, especially at night and during weekends.
  6. Report any water leaks to the Facilities Management plumbing supervisor.
  7. Do not block/store items on any unit ventilators or heating elements, especially in classrooms and offices.
  8. Only 3-prong extension cords shall be used, for safety reasons. These cords shall not be extended through doorways or in egress paths to prevent tripping hazards.
  9. Any cooking of food must be supervised at all times to prevent fire hazards.
  10. Building thermostats will be kept at 68 degrees during school hours.
  11. Domestic hot water temperatures will be kept at 110 degrees.

  IMPORTANT: Personal appliances (microwaves, heaters, coffee makers, refrigerators, etc.) are not permitted in the classrooms for reasons of fire safety and pest management, unless approved as an accommodation under district policy.  Please use personal appliances in shared staff spaces only. For information about the reasonable accommodation process, please contact the Office of Equity at bpsequity@bostonpublicschools.org or 617-635-9650.

  Thank you for your cooperation as we work together to save resources throughout the Boston Public Schools.

  Download the BPS Energy and Personal Appliances Memo

• PEAK ENERGY DEMAND

  Boston Public Schools participates in the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and City of Boston’s program to reduce BPS Demand Capacity Load during the New England grid-wide peak demand times.

  Typically, grid-wide peak occurs once or twice per year, for one (1) hour in July or August. Participation requires shutting down Air Conditioning and Ventilation (only) at community schools for that one-hour period, thus reducing BPS electricity demand during the critical grid-wide peak demand time. Because BPS Energy Division usually receives an alert notifying us of the expected peak hour, we pre-cool or pre-heat the buildings in order to minimize the impact of the HVAC shut down during that one hour.

  Each year, when the New England electric grid experiences the highest hour of demand throughout the region, the grid operator measures electric use from large consumers such as City of Boston. These measurements are called a building’s “capacity tag”, or how much that building contributed to the need for additional generating capacity across the grid. A building’s capacity tag from one year sets that customer’s capacity cost for the entire following year at a rate of about $10 per kilowatt.

  Please contact BPS Senior Energy Technologist Elie Nassif with any questions, enassif@bostonpublicschools.org or 617-635-9000 Ext 43172.

• ARC + SCHOOLS: SUSTAINABILITY TRACKING & BENCHMARKING

  In 2018-2019, BPS Healthy & Sustainable Schools selected 2 schools (Boston Latin School and Boston Green Academy) to pilot BPS use of Arc. Arc is a web-based tool that tracks a building’s performance in energy, waste, waste, transportation, and human experience. Arc enables BPS to track and analyze these already-existing data sets in one platform, benchmark the data, and develop SMART district sustainability goals. Arc also provides students with hands-on-learning experiences related to data collection, data analysis, sustainability, and benchmarking.

  Learn more about using Arc in your schools from our curriculum page at bostongreenschools.org/curriculum.