Home
Press Room
SRC APRIL NEWSLETTER
Inside This Edition:
- Southeast Rebuild Collaborative Invites Your K-12 School District to Join!
- SRC Successfully Launched April 10
- SRC Makes Dollars and Sense for Schools
- Five Tips for Spring Break Savings with SRC
Southeast Rebuild Collaborative Invites Your K-12 School District to Join!
Southeast Rebuild Collaborative (SRC), launched on April 10, is recruiting K-12 school districts to join in the effort to increase energy efficiency and reduce the carbon footprint of the Southeast region. SRC relies on national experts to deliver support, including organizations such as The Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), the Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI), the Southface Energy Institute, and Public Technology Institute. By accepting our invitation to be a part of this collaborative, you can create better working and learning environments for future generations.
Benefits of Membership for Schools
The SRC will enable school districts to save energy by making it easier for faculty, staff, and students to learn how they can make a difference and by encouraging them to persuade decision-makers in their institutions to commit to take action. Actions can range from learning about products and services available at no cost, or tracking and measuring energy use, to implementing comprehensive energy retrofits and energy upgrades in their facilities.
How to Join
With our easy online setup, institutions that own or lease buildings can join SRC as Affiliates. Any interested party can join as a Participant. Associations, energy consultants, and providers are invited to join as Allies. Joining is even easier if you already participate in energy efficiency and renewable energy programs such as:
- ENERGY STAR®
- EnergySmart Schools
- Utility Report Card
- SunSmart Schools
Membership is a requirement to obtain SRC services. The program's sponsors at DOE, the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), EPA, and the five state energy offices invite you to join today. Learn more about how your school district can join the effort to save money and help protect the environment by visiting the SRC Web site at www.southeastrebuild.org or by calling 1-866-SRC-4999.
SRC Successfully Launched April 10
SRC is a joint effort of the state energy offices of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina. SRC promotes energy efficiency to individuals, school districts, state and local governments, colleges and universities, vendors, trade organizations, and other allies in the member states with the goal of motivating institutions to save energy and reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases.
SRC states have joined the EPA ENERGY STAR Challenge and set a goal of improving energy efficiency by 10 percent or more using the resources provided by the SRC partnership. They will also work as a region to leverage federal programs and resources of the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
"There is a growing sense that savings through energy efficiency are missed because institutions are unaware of readily available support products and services in our states and federal programs such as ENERGY STAR," said Michael Ohlsen, chair of the SRC executive committee. "This partnership will help building owners take advantage of resources that help save energy and money."
The estimated benefits for all participating states include total annual energy savings of approximately $4.1 million. The project's goal is to reach out to 650 facilities per year. The SRC plans to influence institutions owning a total of approximately 49 million square feet of building space and avoid emissions of 483 million pounds of carbon dioxide annually.
The SRC invites you to learn more about how you can get involved in the effort to save money and help protect the environment by visiting the SRC Web site at www.southeastrebuild.org or by calling 1-866-SRC-4999.
SRC Makes Dollars and Sense for Schools
The Earth thanks you…for giving a gift! By taking this action, you are reducing your impact on the global climate and making yourself part of the solution. Don't stop here. Look for the ENERGY STAR when you're in the market for a new product – altogether, ENERGY STAR in your home could reduce your energy use by up to 30%.
Dedicate an Earth Day gift today!
The first edition of our newsletter is focused on what SRC can do to help K-12 schools increase energy efficiency and become top energy performers. SRC is a resource available to help you understand the business case for energy efficiency, improve school building performance, and enhance your energy education programs. SRC leverages federal resources to help you implement energy efficiency programs locally.
Support for Faculty and Staff
- Earth Day Giving Tree: This interactive, online tree is a representation of what individuals from across the country are doing to increase energy efficiency and protect the environment for Earth Day – April 22, 2007. SRC timed its launch around Earth Day to motivate participants to link energy efficiency with the environment. Take the pledge to contribute through an act of environmental stewardship at www.southeastrebuild.org.
- Energy Awareness Month: During the month of October, the Federal Energy Management Program provides materials to facilities that promote energy conservation and efficiency.
- Change a Light, Change the World: This ENERGY STAR campaign is centered on a voluntary pledge that individuals can take to change their lighting to more efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs.
Support for Building and Facilities Managers
- Measure, benchmark, and set goals: Learn to use tools, such as ENERGY STAR's Portfolio Manager, to set energy use baselines and set goals for energy reduction.
- Make the business case for energy efficiency: Learn to use financial calculators to quickly and easily demonstrate the cost savings of increasing energy efficiency and assess cost-related risk reduction strategies.
- Achieve energy efficiency in new building design: New schools will be around for decades. Architects, engineers, designers, and builders can set energy performance goals to reduce building operating costs for the life of the building—at little or no incremental cost.
- Use nationally recognized prepaid tools! Take advantage of EPA's Guidelines for Energy Management and DOE's programs on renewable energy.
Five Tips for Spring Break Savings with SRC
SRC leverages EPA's ENERGY STAR program to help schools get started on the path to savings and increased energy efficiency. Some quick tips from ENERGY STAR specifically related to schools include the following:
1. Establish the energy use of your building(s) and set goals.
With EPA's new, easy-to-use energy use tracking tools, you can establish the current energy use of your building(s) and determine a reasonable energy savings goal.
2. Inspect heating equipment now and perform monthly maintenance.
After an initial check up, monthly maintenance of heating and cooling equipment is necessary to guarantee efficient operation throughout the year.
3. Turn back or turn off heating and cooling equipment when not needed.
Many buildings operate heating and cooling systems 24 hours a day. Cutting back one hour of operation out of every 12 can result in an energy savings of roughly 8 percent.
4. Get the community involved.
Promoting energy awareness among students, teachers, and staff can provide positive returns quickly for a small upfront cost.
5. Improve lighting systems.
Lighting is the second largest use of energy in schools after heating and cooling equipment. Performing regular maintenance and making sure lights are turned off when not in use can offer significant savings.
Spread the word! The SRC encourages you to forward this first newsletter to your friends and colleagues to invite them to join our energy efficiency efforts.