NEWSLETTER | Issue 34 9
A4L Responds to the Green School Initiative for Energy Management by Dick Robinson , Robinson Consulting
The Energy Usage data object
One of the major goals of the A4L ’ s Community work is to allow member schools , districts and state departments the ability to leverage their current and future investments – because schools and districts are increasingly doing “ more with less ”. One of the top 3 expenses for all schools is their facility management expense .
Back in 2015 , the Facility and Energy Management Team ( FEM Team ) was formed as part of the A4L Community . The Team developed an Energy Usage Data Object for managing the school use of utilities ( electricity , gas and water ) and HVAC operations for energy usage . With the increasing need for energy management / monitoring systems for the school district use , there is now the opportunity in the A4L Community to provide a system which enables the school district to access energy usage in near real time ( e . g ., 5 minute intervals ) to identify and monitor electricity and gas usage including HVAC ( Heating , Ventilation and Air Conditioning ) for the school and provide feedback / alerts to assist the administration in reducing waste and costs for energy usage in the facility and yet , maintain a quality learning environment in the school using the system .
This Energy Usage Data Object expands SIF applications by allowing A4L member schools , districts , AEA and State Department officials to not only monitor energy usage / utilities but also HVAC equipment and room learning environmental conditions . It provides an opportunity to track , study , and alert school and district administration to changing and fixing energy usage problems as well as HVAC and space environmental issues . It identifies energy management problems to improve energy conservation and reducing related energy costs ; and it provides the first opportunity to maintain a quality student-learning environment by identifying equipment functional problems in settings and operations .
The Energy Usage Object has been tested as an application in schools in Minnesota . The end result can lead to a 20 percent savings or more based upon school staff management of the technology .
Federal Interest
In January of 2016 the A4L Community established contact with the U . S . Department of Education and a representative of the White House . Discussions between A4L and the U . S . Department of Education began to focus on a process for extending the SIF Energy Usage Data Model through a system that could be distributed throughout the United States to SIF state and school district members that would like to implement the technology to reduce energy costs . Then , in June of 2016 , FEM team representatives established contact with the U . S . Department of Energy and the company ICF International that works with the U . S . Department of Energy in supporting projects for sustainable energy in America . The FEM Team is in the process of seeking Federal support through the U . S . Department of Energy .
Directions for Facility and Energy Management
Since the Facility and Energy Management Project Team ( FEM Team ) designed and carried out a proof of concept demonstration of the implementation of the SIF Energy Usage Data Object back in 2015 , IRIS Energy ( member of the FEM Team ) is now planning for the development of the adapters ( agents ) needed for implementation in of the Energy Usage SIF application during 2017 . Now in 2016 the FEM team is supervising Energy Management Pilot Projects in school districts in Minnesota with a plan to implement additional pilot schools in other A4L member states in early 2017 .
The FEM Project Team will also be seeking new vendors to participate in the development of energy management SIF applications and the team will focus on the development of extended data objects in both energy management and facility management needs in SIF-enabled schools across all three A4L Community locales ( North America , Australia and the United Kingdom ).
The FEM Team will be conducting a demonstration of the Energy Usage Data Model at a session during the A4L Annual Meeting ( Feb 28 – Mar 2 , 2017 ).