Student Energy Patrol Saves Schools Money
BALTIMORE (WJZ) - The U.S. Department of Energy is urging schools to look for ways to become smarter about energy.
Mary Bubala reports America's schools spend more than $6 billion each year on energy costs, but energy experts say schools can save up to 30 percent by doing a few simple things.
First, start an energy patrol staffed by students. It monitors the use of lighting, air conditioning, heating and other energy systems on a daily basis.
An energy patrol in an Arkansas school district helped save $700,000.
Another school district in Illinois shut off all the schools' 60,000 computers at the end of each day -- saving more than a million dollars in energy costs that year.
These school districts used the savings to buy new books and add new playground equipment