Reducing energy use
Cobden Technical School, Vic
What did they do?
Cobden Technical School is in south-western Victoria and has over 300 secondary students. The students and staff at the school reduced the electricity used by 11% and gas used by 12% in one week just by turning off lights and heaters when not ins use and closing doors to keep heat in!
How did they do it?
Students all across the school were involved in helped to meeting the energy challenge. to reduce energy. Signs placed around the school asked people to turn the lights and heaters off and close the doors when they left the room. Stickers on light switches reminded students and teachers to turn off the lights. Computer screens were also turned off when not in use and computers were turned off after every session. To save on heating and cooling, thermometers in each classroom were used to check that heaters and air conditioners were only turned on when the temperature was rightneeded. These simple steps for reducing energy use were presented at student assemblies to encourage students to participate. The energy challenge was promoted to the community through the school newsletter and local papers.
The school won an energy challenge award and a $2000 grant from the Victorian government's Sustainable Energy Authority in 2000. With the prize the school was able to reduce its energy use further by installing skylights in the corridors, sealing and double glazing louvre windows and placing timers on some electrical equipment.
The school also started a major project to replace all fluorescent tubes in the school with more energy efficient triphosphor tubes. Year 7 students did an audit of the school to map where the replacement tubes were required. Physics students used light meters to check the amount of natural light available. They found that the school could make better use of natural light and reduce the number of new light tubes needed. The SRC held an out of uniform day to raise money to purchase the new tubes. and aA school working bee replaced the lights in one section of the school. Eventually all the lights, including those in the school gymnasium, were replaced with the more efficient tubes.
Cobden Technical School was rewarded for its energy reduction efforts with a prize for Best School in the 2001 Sustainable Energy Authority of Victoria Energy Smart Awards.
Thanks to Cobden Technical School, Vic
» www.cobtech.vic.edu.au
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