Dale Bass – Kamloops This Week
Since the 2001 school year, the Kamloops-Thompson school district has saved more than $1.1 million in energy consumption.
A report to trustees at Monday night’s meeting shows during the dozen years ending in the 2013-2014 school year, the biggest savings came in propane consumption (38 per cent) and electricity consumption (34 per cent).
In addition, reports facilities and transportation director Art McDonald said, there was a 24 per cent reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions, a 21 per cent decline in natural-gas consumption, a 16 per cent reduction in diesel-fuel consumption and a 15 per cent decrease in water consumption.
There are many reasons for the savings.
For example, the district has upgraded its heating, ventilation and air-conditions units, as well as the lights it uses. Staff are turning off lights in rooms not being used and, in the case of Clearwater secondary, a change from electric to propane heat in 2004 accounted for seven per cent of the electricity savings.
Water savings come from replacing toilets, urinals and faucets with more efficient ones, watering the grass a bit less often and letting it grow a bit longer.
School closures also attributed to the savings — 14 per cent of electricity, 21 per cent of natural gas, 31 per cent of propane and 12 per cent of water reductions.
