Port Jefferson School District Awarded Energy Star Certification

All three schools in the Port Jefferson school district have been awarded an Energy Star certification by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, district officials recently announced.

The district has reduced its energy consumption by 22 percent since its energy efficiency project began in 2008, and has logged a cost avoidance of $419,000 through September 2012 (the most recent month for which data was available), the district said in a statement.

The school district launched its energy efficiency project through Cenergistic, a company that trains its clients to reduce their energy consumption without the need for purchasing new equipment.

Examples of actions taken by the school district include:

• Completed an energy audit through LIPA;
• Set and maintained consistent temperatures in the buildings throughout the day;
• Turned off lights when not in use and used natural daylight when appropriate.

Fred Koelbel, plant/facilities administrator for the school district, could not immediately provide details of the district's contract with Cenergistic but said the project has more than paid for itself.

Additionally, he said, energy savings have been realized through the installation of photovoltaic panels at Edna Louise Spear Elementary School and the maintenance building, as well as lighting retrofits and upgrades throughout the district, which were paid for through federal grant money totaling approximately $737,000.

William S. Spears, chairman and founder of Cenergistic, lauded the district's leadership, faculty and staff members for their "commitment to being good stewards of taxpayers’ dollars and the environment."

“By sustaining the program, Port Jefferson UFSD will continue saving dollars for the benefit of students and taxpayers,” Spears said in a statement.

Port Jefferson superintendent Kenneth Bossert said in a statement that the district's relationship with Cenergistic "has completely changed our culture from one of unintentional energy waste to intentional energy savings."