Saving energy, saving money
Construction on the new Milton-Union K-12 School in West Milton is expected to start in May and wrap up in 2012. Here’s a look at the renewable energy systems planned for the school and the anticipated energy bill savings.
• Ice storage cooling system — High efficiency chillers make ice inside storage tanks during night when the energy required to run the chillers is in less demand and less costly. During the day, the thermal energy of the ice is used to cool the water that circulates through the building’s air conditioning system. Annual savings: $70,290
• Lighting enhancements — Campus will use LED outside lighting and inside fluorescent lighting with reduced wattage. Large windows, typically two per classroom and measuring 8 feet by 8 feet, aim to maximize natural lighting. When it’s bright outside, the interior lighting automatically dims or turns off, lessening energy usage. Annual savings: $8,400
• Solar hot water — Water tubes inside solar panels on the roof absorb the sun’s heat, reducing or eliminating the need for hot water heaters. Annual savings: $7,215
• Energy management monitoring, programming and educational displays — Measures energy usage in four wings of the building, allowing location-specific adjustments. Students will be able to compare energy usage in the elementary, middle and high school wings and compete for savings. Annual savings: $29,850
• Wind turbines — Used as an educational tool and symbol more than anything else, the device produces comparatively little energy, given the wind volume in the area. “We wanted to put something in for long-term educational purposes because the district’s confident that renewable energy is here to stay,” said Greg Smith, a consultant to the school district and president of Energy Optimizers USA in Tipp City. Annual savings: $4,900
• Rainwater harvesting — A 75,000-gallon reservoir collects rainwater that can be used in rest rooms and showers and for watering the fields. Annual savings: $11,990
• Solar electricity — Panels on the roof absorb the sun’s heat and convert it to electricity. Small savings initially ($3,680) but panels can be added as they become more affordable and return a bigger payback on the investment.
Source: Energy Optimizers USA in Tipp City and Dayton architect Michael S. Ruetschle
WEST MILTON — Kim Dohrman jokes that she and her family are on the “freak level” when it comes to recycling and being good stewards of the environment.
Not only do the Dohrmans recycle aluminum cans, paper and cardboard at their Williams Drive home, they reuse the wax paper bags in cereal boxes to cover food dishes in the microwave. They’ve also constructed a 300-gallon rain harvesting system for watering their lawn and gardens, and they’re planning this year to build an organic compost garden in their backyard.
So it’s no surprise Kim and Donald Dohrman are elated over the new Milton-Union School that’s about to be built on Milton-Potsdam Road.
When it’s finished in 2012, the school for 1,700 students in kindergarten through 12th grade will harness energy from the sun, wind and rain to help fuel its 216,000-square-foot structure. Located on 17 acres, the two-story school will boast a 120-foot wind turbine, a solar thermal system, rainwater harvester, other “advanced energy efficiency applications” and an energy awareness and education program for students and the community.
“I think all the kids and the parents in the community are excited about the school construction in general. What I’m excited about is that they’re putting that sense of respect for the planet to the forefront,” said Kim Dohrman, whose children, Sydney, 10, and Cody, 7, attend Milton-Union Elementary School.
Going green
School district Treasurer Charles Klein acknowledged that, with a price tag of around $42 million, the school could be built for less with fewer green applications. “We’re paying up front,” he said, “but we’re going to obviously be saving on energy bills.”
Preliminary estimates show the district saving $136,325 a year in energy bills, or $3.4 million over the next 25 years in today’s dollars.
Many new buildings today incorporate “green” elements in their design, but it’s required for new schools that were approved for funding from the Ohio School Facilities Commission after 2007. The schools must meet at least LEED silver certification, the third highest in a progressive rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. (LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.)
For schools, the rating system is designed to improve children’s health, productivity and learning capacity while also making school buildings more energy efficient and resource friendly. Milton-Union’s new school will be gold certified, according to OSFC.
Talk of the town
Known for its rolling hills, Stillwater River and rich farmland, this sleepy village of nearly 5,000 residents in southern Miami County hasn’t seen new school construction — indeed any sizable construction — since 1970 when the school district added to its then 20-year-old elementary school.
Asked if residents are excited about the project, Mayor Raymond Moore replied, “That’s putting it mildly.”
Voters approved a 1.25 percent income tax levy in November 2008 to help fund the new school. The state, using tobacco lawsuit settlement money, is picking up the bulk of the tab, 56 percent. The school district also plans to borrow around $1 million from the Ohio Department of Development’s Office of Energy Efficiency under the House Bill 264 program, which is named for the 23-year-old legislation that created it.
The program allows school districts to make energy efficiency improvements to their buildings and use the cost savings to pay for those improvements over 15 years. The program has helped fund numerous renovation projects over the years, but the Milton-Union school marks the first time it’s been used for new construction, thanks to recent changes in the law, said Mark Wantage, who administers the HB 264 program for OSFC.
Wantage said Milton-Union is also unique in the extent to which the district has embraced the state’s goals for LEED and “building effective buildings for learning.”
“They’re looking to make their facility more efficient, but their intention also is to incorporate the building as a learning tool,” Wantage said. “That is something that’s talked about a lot, but unfortunately it’s not really engaged as much as we’d like to see it engaged.”
The school, for instance, will house energy management monitors in four wings of the building, allowing location-specific adjustments. School leaders hope to integrate the feature into the curriculum, using it to create student competitions to see which wing — elementary, middle or high school — can be most efficient.
Build the best
Superintendent Virginia Rammel said the district’s vision for a new school didn’t begin with what might become, at least for now, the greenest school in the Dayton area.
“Our two goals were, No. 1, build the best K-12 complex we could possibly build, and secondly, be as transparent as we possibly can through the process. We want the people to know what we’re doing and we want their feedback,” Rammel said.
Most residents have been enthusiastic, embracing the design and the possibilities it creates, she said.
“This is just a great place to live and learn, a lot of great teachers, a lot of great families,” Rammel said. “We want this to rejuvenate everybody and make everybody feel good and feel proud to be part of Milton-Union schools.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7408 or agottschlich@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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