PRESENTATION NAME Company Name

THE OKLAHOMA GREEN SCHOOLS

PROGRAM

Better Health, Improved Learning and Saving Money

THE OKLAHOMA GREEN SCHOOLS PROGRAM (OGSP) INSPIRES

STUDENTS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR IMPROVING THE

ENVIRONMENT AT THEIR SCHOOL, AT HOME AND IN THEIR

COMMUNITY. SINCE 2009, OGSP HAS OFFERED STATE-WIDE

ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICE-LEARNING AND HANDS-ON INQUIRY

BASED INVESTIGATIONS IN:

ENERGY

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

SCHOOL SITE

WASTE & RECYCLING

WATER

OGSP ALLOWS STUDENTS TO BECOME LEADERS IN THEIR

SCHOOL AND LEADERS IN THEIR OWN EDUCATION.

WHAT IS THE OKLAHOMA GREEN SCHOOLS PROGRAM?

PRESENTATION NAME Company Name

THERE ARE SIX EASY STEPS TO BECOMING

AN OKLAHOMA GREEN SCHOOL:

1. REGISTER YOUR SCHOOL

2. FORM A GREEN TEAM

3. CONDUCT AN INVESTIGATION IN

ONE OF THE FIVE AREAS

4. REPORT FINDINGS

5. IMPLEMENT A STUDENT ACTION

PROJECT

6. APPLY FOR CERTIFICATION TO GET

YOUR OGSP FLAG

RECEIVING YOUR FLAG DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE DONE. IT

MEANS YOU HAVE STARTED.

NEXT SCHOOL YEAR YOU CAN TACKLE ANOTHER

INVESTIGATION OR ISSUE AT YOUR SCHOOL

School Energy Use

K-12 school districts in the US spend billion

annually on energy. That’s more than they spend

on computers and textbooks combined. It is the

largest expense other than personnel.

Energy is one of the few expenses a school can

reduce without sacrificing educational quality.

Schools are central to the communities they

serve and should reflect community values –

like energy and resource conservation.

Schools are a great place to teach the nation's

children about energy and resource

conservation.

$6

CHANGING SCHOOL ENERGY

PERSPECTIVES

3. Behavior-based

changes are the easiest

to implement, with little

or no capital costs.

1. Energy use is often

considered an inevitable cost

that can’t be altered.

2. Studies have shown that

behavior-based changes

can have a big impacts on

energy efficiency.

3 APPROCHES TO

SAVING ENERGY IN SCHOOLS

1. Raise awareness among faculty, staff and students

2. Manage school building operations

3. Upgrade mechanical equipment and controls

WHERE IS THE ENERGY

USED IN SCHOOLS?

HVAC is typically the biggest consumer

of electricity (most often for cooling,

with gas used for heating).

Lighting accounts for

of total electricity use

Plug Load contributes approximately

of the school’s total energy use.

25%-50%

Example of a School Energy Profile. Profiles

would vary based on climate and location.

“E Source; from Commercial Building Energy

Consumption Survey, 1999 data” in U.S. EPA,

ENERGYSTAR Building Upgrade Manual, 2008

25%

ENHANCE LEARNING THROUGH

BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS

1. INDOOR AIR QUALITY

2. THERMAL COMFORT

3. LIGHTING

IMPACTS OF

INDOOR AIR QUALITY

Students in American schools miss

approximately 14 million school days per year

because of asthma

Controlling indoor environmental factors such

as carbon dioxide, dust, and pollen have the

following impacts:

reduction in asthma

51% reduction in respiratory illness

(common cold and flu)

Decreased health care costs (paid by parents,

not schools)

Often adjustments or upgrades to HVAC

systems can remedy IAQ issues.

25%-38.5%

THERMAL COMFORT

IMPACTS LEARNING

COMFORTABLE INDOOR TEMPERATURES

ENHANCE PRODUCTIVITY AND KEEP

STUDENTS ALERT

FRESHER, CLEANER AIR CAN BE

ACHIEVED WITH WINDOWS THAT OPEN

OR HVAC SYSTEMS THAT PROVIDE A

CONSTANT SUPPLY OF AIR.

LIGHTING & LEARNING

PROPER LIGHTING CAN:

IMPROVE TEST SCORES

REDUCE OFF-TASK

BEHAVIORS (RESTLESSNESS)

HEIGHTEN ALERTNESS

REDUCE ENERGY COSTS

INCREASE STUDENT

CONCENTRATON

A 7-YEAR STUDY IN THE US & UK FOUND:

• 45% OF THE ERRORS ON SAT EXAMS

WERE THE RESULT OF POOR LIGHTING

(VISUAL PERCEPTION)

• READING SCORES CAN BE IMPROVED BY

35% WITH THE CORRECT LIGHTING

• STUDENTS WERE 75% LESS RESTLESS

UNDER THE PROPER LIGHT.

OGSP Toolkits

• Light Meter

• TIM8 Desktop Air Quality

Monitor

• Infrared Thermometer

• 50# Spring Scale

• Field Thermometer (Probe)

• Kill-A-Watt Electricity Monitor

• Ballast Identifier

Free to borrow for up to a month

OGSP RESULTS

Students at Owasso’s Seventh Grade Center used Kill-a-watt

meters to evaluate plug load at their school. “They looked at

everything: the energy being used to run computers, the

library’s laminator, which turned out to be a real energy hog,

and the electricity we were using to light our classrooms and

cafeteria.

The students discovered that by using natural light, our

classroom energy use could be halved. They recommended

leaving one of the two light switches in each classroom turned

off. They also instituted “moonlight lunches” in the

cafeteria, when students eat by natural light, installed

timers on all the school’s copiers to automatically

turn them off when not in use, and recommended

keeping the laminator turned off except when it was

needed.

Thanks to the student’s efforts, they are now the

number one school in our district for energy

conservation.

MORE RESULTS

Fifth graders at Peters Elementary school in Broken Arrow used an

assortment of tools to investigate energy usage in the school. They

wrote and performed an assembly “Makin’ Bacon Out of Energy Hogs”

challenging students to save energy. They turned lights down on

Fridays to decrease energy use. For their efforts, they saw a $1,400.00

savings on their electricity bill over the same month the previous

year.

6th graders at Riverfield Country Day School in Tulsa

conducted the Energy Investigation and discovered that

most lighting, CO2 levels, humidity, plug loads, and

temperatures in classrooms were in normal ranges.

Several room filters will need changing out, several lights

should be replaced with recommended LEDs, and a few

water-stained ceiling tiles need replacement.

The main building that is the oldest building on campus

needs the most work with lighting replacement of old

fixtures with new LED recommended light fixtures.

The main suggestion is rewiring of the Big Blue concession

area. Another electrical outlet is needed so extension cords

aren't used for all of the refrigerators and ice-maker

machines and low voltage that blew a breaker when

measuring wattage needs to be fixed.

They presented these findings to the Riverfield Board and

Administration and they have already begun to take action

based on the student’s recommendations.

RESULTS

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Check out our website:

www.okgreenschools.org