Lee Schools' energy plan saves $2.96 million

Going green has paid off for Lee County schools.

Thanks to energy-efficient equipment and preventative maintenance, the district has saved $2.96 million in energy costs since fiscal year 2013.

Implemented in 2011, Lee's energy management program is built on four tenets: preventative maintenance, a district-wide commitment to saving energy, equipment upgrades and regular energy audits.

"We had already been doing little projects like lighting (upgrades) in the district," said Barbara Cedeno, Lee Schools' energy management coordinator. "But in 2011 when we kicked off the the behavioral side of the program, we saw a big decrease in energy use. Year one was phenomenal."

Proactive maintenance has reduced the number of equipment breakdowns across the district's 103 facilities, saving $1.5 million in contractor costs.

"Five years ago, it would not be a surprise for an elementary school to not have AC for three, four days," said Jimmy Flock, Lee's director of maintenance services. "Now when we have a catastrophic system failure like that, we're up and running again in only two or three hours and there's less impact on instructional time."

Energy-efficient upgrades at a handful of schools will also yield $300,000 in yearly savings. For example, the switch to LED lights at Fort Myers Middle will save the district $37,659 each year. Tinting windows saves the district about $2,838 each year per building. Using magnetic chilling units at Harns Marsh Middle and Oak Hammock Middle will save $103,608 each year.

"What's great about this whole change is that everybody understands the benefit of conserving energy, but we're also saving taxpayer dollars," Cedeno said.

Since the district's fiscal year began in July, it has reduced itsenergy consumption by 3.4 percent — a sign that officials will almost certainly exceed their original goal of 5 percent this year.

Lee School officials are also analyzing existing infrastructure to determine whether it remains the most efficient option for the district. Ten district buildings are fitted with outdated, oversized air-conditioning units. Officials hope to re-engineer the facilities with current technologies, an investment they say will pay off within five years.

Flock said his staff's accomplishments have not been easy. Like the rest of the district, Lee maintenance department is hurting for funding. Flock said his department's budget has been cut from $20 million to almost $5 million.

"It's hard doing what we have with the money we have," he said. "We're doing a good job, we're getting by, but the money is very tight."

If his department's budget were restored, Flock said they would be able to save the district even more money.

"In the future, (maintenance) is going to be an even greater issue," he said. "We really appreciate the support of the superintendent. If it wasn't for her, we wouldn't be doing any of the things we're doing now."

By the numbers

$2.96 million: the amount of money saved since beginning the new energy management plan in 2013

$17.57 million: Electrical savings since 2009

22 cents the savings per square foot in the district