Parkside Elementary School
207 3rd. St. N.E.
Buffalo, MN 55313
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Parkside Elementary School is a part of the Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose School district, and has worked extensively with Hallberg Engineering to become a star energy performer. The School was originally built in 1956, and has undergone two major space additions: one in 1966 that added 27,955 square feet to the complex, and a second in 1988 that added another 18,700 square feet.
Parkside Elementary addresses energy management issues in a variety of ways. At the district level, the Director of Buildings and Grounds monitors energy use for all of the school district's facilities and oversees the district's energy management team. This team contains an Energy Efficiency Coordinator who works with each schools staff on energy awareness and behavioral changes, and a technical specialist who utilizes remote monitoring technology to program and troubleshoot the district's energy management system from the district offices.
Within individual schools, and especially at Parkside Elementary, the students, teaching staff, and Principal all work hard to turn equipment off when it is not in use, and are an integral part of the overall success of the school.
Energy strategies have been identified with assistance from the Schools for Energy Efficiency (SEE) Program, and have been implemented in all facilities. The SEE program provides Buffalo-Hanover-Montrose-Schools with a systemized approach to managing energy consumption, and gives them the ability to customize strategies for both operational and behavioral initiatives. Energy efficiency and life cycle cost comparisons play a key role in the decision making process at Parkside Elementary, and govern most equipment upgrades and replacements. With each of the facilities having slightly different missions SEE helps to identify strategies that are specific to individual sites. Their annual goal is a 10 percent reduction in energy consumption, and they have met or exceeded this goal each year since beginning the program.
Why ENERGY STAR?
Each of the schools work hard to be conscious of how and where they use energy, and the district feesl that it is important to recognize their efforts. they also like to compare their energy reduction successes to those of similar buildings nationwide. The EPA's ENERGY STAR program gives them the ability to do both: they can give recognition to their superior energy performers with the ENERGY STAR label, and can track performance against a national average using EPA's Portfolio Manager tool.
TECHNOLOGIES AND PRACTICES
Parkside Elementary School has utilized the following technology upgrades in improving the energy efficiency of its building:
Example Energy Efficiency project:
|
Project |
Initial Cost |
Payback Period |
How the Project was Financed |
|
Lighting upgrades |
$90,000 (est) |
< 7 years |
Local bond vote |
|
HVAC: Replaced Unit Ventilators |
$24,360.00 |
Required upgrades for indoor air quality: N/A |
State Health & Safety funds |
SERVICE AND PRODUCT PROVIDERS
In order to track energy consumption, Parkside Elementary worked with Hallberg Engineering to gather data and provide quarterly reports. This allows them to accurately analyze building efficiency and more effectively target necessary upgrades.
O&M PRACTICES
Parkside Elementary carries out regular O&M activities to increase the energy performance of our building, including: regular boiler tune-ups; staff training in energy management and bi-annual training sessions on energy efficiency practices; continual equipment and system start/stop time updates to reflect varying times that the building is in use, and; window replacements (scheduled for 2007).
Communications:
Parkside Elementary shares successes with the district's leadership team during quarterly team meetings. During these meetings the team reviews energy usage for all of the School's utilities, and successes are subsequently disseminated via school and district newsletters. Energy fun facts are inserted in district newsletters, and posters are put up near main entryways that show quarterly results.
Testimonial:
"The ability of schools to partner with ENERGY STAR, and especially the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager tool can be a powerful energy saving combination. These services provided by ENERGY STAR give schools a common comparison, a goal to work towards, tools to get to that goal, and national recognition to show that they are making an effort to do the right thing and reduce their energy usage. I thank ENERGY STAR for their assistance."
Please note: Narrative information in this profile has been provided by Buffalo Montrose Hanover Public Schools or a representative of this facility. Other building information was verified and submitted to EPA at the time of application. Building energy performance, operating characteristics, and ownership/management may be subject to change over time.
Service Provider:
Hallberg Engineering
Building Owner:*
Buffalo Montrose Hanover Public Schools
Property Manager:*
N/A
Year(s) Labeled (Rating):
2005 (75)
Facility Type: K-12 School
Total Floorspace: 81024 sf
Year Constructed: 1956
Contract Type: None
Financing Type: Internal Capital
Technologies Used:
| Stage 1-Recommissioning |
| Stage 2-Lighting |
| Stage 3-Load Reductions |
For More Info:
Sandy Hanson
Energy Coordinator
Buffalo,
MN
55313
763-682-8563
shanson@buffalo.k12.mn.us