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Energy Efficient Schools and Students: Barriers to Change

Navigation:

Table of Contents

Background and Overview

Reasons to Change

Barriers to Change

Complete List of Links

Essential Links:

Greening America's Schools: Costs and Benefits
Written by Gregory Kats, this report is intended to answer this fundamental question: how much more ...

Managing the Cost of Green Buildings: K-12 Public Schools; Research Laboratories; Public Libraries; ...
This report describes how to control the costs of green building projects by summarizing the researc...

National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities (NCEF)
Created in 1997 by the U.S. Department of Education, the National Clearinghouse for Educational Faci...

Save Energy at School
Suggestions for saving energy at schools, tips for implementing a school-wide energy efficiency prog...

School Operations and Maintenance: Best Practices for Controlling Energy Costs
Prepared by Princeton Energy Resource International, HPowell Energy Associates and the Alliance to S...

<big><b>Energy Efficient Schools and Students: Barriers to Change </b></big>

This section discusses factors that may impede implementation of energy design modifications at schools.

Factors that may impede the implementation of Energy Efficient Designs and Strategies at schools may include:

Allocation of budgetary resources required for obtaining new energy efficient equipment, either as a retrofit or in a new school,
Lack of an energy policy for schools and sufficient time to draft and adopt an energy efficient policy,
Lack of awareness of the simple steps that can amount to big differences and savings.
Lack of support at the decision-making (district or state) level for implementation and funding an energy efficient program,
Not understanding legislative requirements or compliance directives from the state or district,
Inadequate internal support and commitment for maintenance of newer technology,
Lack of resources to fund teacher training for new curricula or for obtaining educational materials.

Readily available resources can help with overcoming the common barriers to implementation of Energy Efficient Schools. Some examples include:

Barriers to Change	Possible Position/Argument to Address the Barrier	Resources
Budgetary limitations	Investment costs will provide future financial savings. Operating budget can be used as a potential source of revenue to pay for energy efficiency upgrades.	Myths About Energy In Schools and Money for Your Energy Upgrades--An Introduction to Financing Energy Efficiency Upgrades in the Public Sector
Time necessary to draft and adopt an energy efficient policy	An energy efficient policy developed through a cooperative effort of staff (administration, teachers, support, and facilities managers) can address key areas of energy use and strategies for reducing energy consumption.	Watt Watchers Energy Policy
Green building is perceived as energy efficient.	The measurement of energy efficiency must be a whole building measurement, not building component based.	Portfolio Manager for Existing Buildings and Target Finder for New Design
Inadequate support at the decision-making (district or state) level for implementation of energy efficient programs in schools.	High energy costs are encouraging all states and their school districts to examine energy efficiency legislation. School energy policies and programs are being adopted across the country and are continually improving.	School Construction Law and Energy Efficient School Construction Act 2007 (Illinois)
Lack of awareness of the simple steps that can amount to big differences and savings	Numerous energy audits exist that can help schools and staff identify areas of energy waste.	Energy Ideas and Audits
Lack of internal support and commitment for maintenance of newer technology.	New technology can seem intimidating and it often seems more cost effective to remain with the more familiar equipment.	School Operations and Maintenance: Best Practices for Controlling Energy Costs
Lack of resources to fund teacher training for new curricula or for obtaining educational materials	The abundance of educational materials on energy is overwhelming and it becomes difficult for educators to access what is most appropriate for classroom use. Identifying the best resources will simplify the necessary training.	National Energy Education Development Program and Energy Efficent Schools and Students Curricula

Additional resources will be found through the links at the side of this page.

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The Topic Hub™ is a product of the Pollution Prevention Resource Exchange (P2Rx)

The Energy Efficient Schools and Students Topic Hub™ was developed by:

Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable
Contact email: glrppr@istc.illinois.edu

Hub Last Updated: 7/6/2011


GLRPPR is a member of the Pollution Prevention Resource Exchange, a national network of regional information centers: NEWMOA (Northeast), WRRC (Southeast), GLRPPR (Great Lakes), ZeroWasteNet (Southwest), P2RIC (Plains), Peaks to Prairies (Mountain), WSPPN (Pacific Southwest), PPRC (Northwest).