10-year review of all efficiency investments at BC school district

July 4, 2019

Over the past 10 years, a British Columba school district has been implementing energy efficiency projects to reduce energy costs and consumptions in every school. Now School District 27 Cariboo-Chilcotin (SD27) is a leader in carbon offset reductions among British Columbia school districts.

Rede recently reviewed SD27’s investments into efficiency projects and the annual savings over the past decade – for every project. The payback period for all energy management and efficiency projects since 2010 is 1.4 years.

Graph of all investments and annual savings from efficiency projects at SD27

The energy efficiency investment and annual savings since 2010, with forecasted values for 2020.

SD27 also cut the amount of carbon offsets purchased by 43% in the past 10 years.

Graph of carbon offset reductions by SD27

 

These savings in energy costs, consumption and carbon offsets come from retrofitting and optimizing existing facilities. Here are some projects that were completed:

  • Modernizing boilers in the district’s largest schools.
  • Switching fuels in some facilities from propane or natural gas to biomass pellets or geoexchange.
  • Upgrading lighting (first from T12 to T8s and later to LEDs) and installing variable drives.
  • Updating or reprogramming building automation systems.

SD27 is among the top 3 of all districts for carbon offset reductions and has been recognized by the Climate Action Secretariat for their success.

Read more about our 10-year review of SD27’s efficiency investments and annual savings

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