Rhode Island Schools Go Green

 Every day at The Portsmouth Abbey is Earth Day.

            Next to the hockey rink sits a wind turbine that powers the 500-acre school campus on a daily basis. The turbine was made possible by a renewable $450,000 grant, awarded by the Rhode Island Renewable Energy Fund.

            Installed in April of 2006, the turbine inspired hope of reducing costs of oil and electricity.

            According to Brother Joseph Byron, the school spent more than $200,000 on electricity each year before utilizing the turbine. Because the wind turbine is capable of producing heat, said Byron, it also reduced the school’s dependency on oil by a substantial amount.

            After only five years, the school expects that the wind turbine will pay for itself, the total of which was $1.2 million.

            The renewable energy successes of Rhode Island high schools don’t stop at Portsmouth Abbey, however.

A new addition to the South Kingstown High School staff, former Curtis Corner Middle School teacher Mr. Carey, has had a major impact on South Kingstown’s energy usage. On week nights and weekends, Carey walks through the schools, turning off lights and other items such as computers.

 South Kingstown, over the past 72 months, has been working with Energy-Education Incorporated, a Texas-based company.

            Carey told the school committee last March that the district has saved close to $1.7 million in energy costs.

            As reported by the Narragansett Times, motion-sensor lighting was implemented in South Kingstown, with savings reaching around $31,000 per year. It is predicted that the savings from this change will surpass the cost of installing the sensors in less than two years.

            Barrington, Bristol-Warren, East Providence, and Smithfield, as well as a few others districts, will be doing the same, according to Channel 12 Eyewitness News.        

            Also, the Cranston school system, which has experienced budget cuts like other districts across the state, has implemented environment-friendly light fixtures. Due to millions-dollar shortages, the school system had to undergo serious changes.

District energy auditor Chris Fuller found a solution: Fuller urged the Cranston school system to install new fluorescent light fixtures and light sensors, similarly to our own.

            National Grid estimates that the annual savings will amount to about $19,818.16.

Cranston had pleaded for help to cover the cost. National Grid stepped in, the company covering 70 percent of the cost.

            Solar panels have been installed on various buildings, namely schools in Burriville, Lincoln, Wickford, Warwick, and South Kingstown. At SKHS, the panels were installed on the roof near the health wing.

            Such progress is not contained to United States schools, however.

            In Munich, Germany, the Grünwald Music School uses newly developed lighting technology. Most of the building is lit by natural daylight, but the areas that are shaded are illuminated by a controlled lighting system.

Lutron Electronics reveals that there are four settings to choose from, including a reddish light, designed for playing and listening exercises and a cooler blue, for reading and other activities that require a bit more light.

The school states that when the lights aren’t as needed, especially during the day, the school dims the lights by 10 percent, which allows the lights to last more than twice as long. This became one of the most important aspects when it came to the school’s energy usage.

Architect Biedermann used the company Lutron Electronics, which furnished the lighting system.

Grover Cleveland Elementary School in Allentown, Pennsylvania also discovered the Lutron lighting control solution. Principal Wheeler, as well as other administration members, wondered how it would affect their budget. However, the school uses approximately 50 percent less energy in their classrooms.

The school was built in 1883, yet it is still capable of supporting “the most sustainable, technologically-advanced fluorescent lighting control system available today,” according to a representative of Lutron Electronics.            

Because of these successes and their dedication to preserving the environment, the Environmental Protection Agency awarded the school a $4,330 grant for environmental education for grades 1-4.

The achieved growth in the area is encouraging; Carey says, “Over an 85-month period, [we] will save 33% of [our] energy budget.”