John Geist, an energy specialist for the Lawrence school district, means business when he turns off a light.

“It’s really cool,” he said. “I try to save energy as well as teach others to become energy savers.”

The result of his work meant a cost savings of $380,087 for the district between August 2003 and September 2004. The district spent about $1.4 million on utility costs during that period. Earlier projections showed the district would have spent about $1.8 million without the energy reduction.

Tom Bracciano, operations and facility planning director for the district, said the savings were slightly more than anticipated.

“A good portion of the savings we need to put back into the utility budget,” Bracciano said. “We’re looking at a volatile year for energy costs.”

Based on information from the U.S. Department of Energy, natural gas prices have been about 8 percent higher this year than last.

Geist said several changes or events allowed the district to save as much as it did on energy costs, including:

• Kansas had an unexpectedly cool summer, meaning air conditioners didn’t run as much. The air conditioner also was turned off for the entire summer at Lawrence High School because of construction, Geist said.
• Geist said he went through all the schools to find items turned on that didn’t need to be and created checklists for employees to help change their habits when turning on lights.

“Districtwide, we had our computers shutting down at 5:30 p.m., and it used to be midnight,” Geist said. “But if people were still in the office, they could still use them.”

Geist will continue looking for energy cost savings. He said more could be done that could help the district save about $3 million within seven years.

6News video: Conservation program helps reduce energy costs for schools (09-02-04) District energy plan saves money (02-24-04)