Home > Buildings & Plants > Buildings & Plants Partner List > Mercer County School District

Mercer County School District

Harrodsburg, Kentucky
10% Improvement (2011)
20% Improvement (2012)

Mercer County School District, located in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, educates over 3,000 students from preschool through grade 12 and occupies over 600,000 square feet of floor space. Mercer County Schools promotes excellence in a positive academic, social, and extracurricular environment, emphasizing equity, diversity, safety, and respect. In accordance with this mission, Mercer County Schools has committed to building a comprehensive energy management plan to address the operational costs and environmental impact of its facilities. Through the implementation of this plan, the district strives to educate students, staff members, and the community about the importance of energy conservation. Mercer County School District uses ENERGY STAR resources to set achievable goals for energy reduction and build a culture of active participation and innovation for all stakeholders. The district has been an ENERGY STAR partner since 2010.

 

Mercer County School District has been recognized by EPA as an ENERGY STAR Leader for improving its district-wide energy efficiency by more than 20 percent compared to a 2009 baseline. One of the district's buildings, Mercer County Senior High, has earned the ENERGY STAR for superior energy performance. In 2009, the school board adopted an energy management policy requiring the superintendent to establish a district energy team. The goal of the district energy team is to evaluate the district's energy use, facilities, and operations practices and to establish goals for energy reduction. In 2010, the district appointed an energy manager to improve the energy efficiency of district facilities. Every school has appointed a school energy team to conduct assessments and spread awareness about energy conservation. Teams generate monthly energy reports to help each school learn from their successes and failures. Successfully implemented efficiency measures include energy shutdown checklists for all major holidays and breaks, reprogramming of existing building automation systems, and consolidation of personal appliances into larger, ENERGY STAR qualified appliances. Since 2009, Mercer County Schools has reduced its overall energy consumption by 20 percent annually, saving over 7,000,000 kBtu and more than $100,000 in energy costs each year. The more than 1,370 metric tons of carbon dioxide saved each year is equivalent to more than 35,350 tree seedlings planted and grown for 10 years.