COUNTYWIDE : Expert Helps Schools Save Energy, Money

Phyllis Throckmorton looks at a school and sees a terrible waste--a waste of energy. She sees energy-hogging light fixtures and furnaces rumbling after school hours.

Throckmorton, project coordinator for the Central Coast Energy Extension Center, is a sort of energy czar for the schools in Ventura County, as well as those in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

Since last April, she has been helping school districts scour their facilities for wasteful equipment and practices. By making changes, the districts save energy and money.

“In most schools, more is spent on utilities than on curriculum and supplies,” Throckmorton said. For example, she said, utility costs at Moorpark Unified School District’s seven schools run about $355,000 a year.

All this is at a time when schools are facing tough economic times. “Budgets are being cut and teachers don’t have enough materials,” she said.

Her goal is to channel the money saved through energy conservation back into the classroom. In many cases, the savings can be substantial, she said.

On Monday, Throckmorton was at Ojai’s Nordhoff High School scanning the 32 powerful light bulbs that illuminate the school gym and examining other old fixtures in the locker rooms. By switching to fluorescent lights, the school could save about $11,550 a year and have better lighting, she said. She has other energy-saving ideas, such as installing lights that automatically turn themselves on and off when someone enters the room. Schools also could stop illuminating their grounds at night, she said. Throckmorton believes a dark campus actually decreases vandalism. Sensors could be added to turn on lights when someone comes onto the school grounds.

Participation in the energy program is voluntary. So far, 16 school districts in the county have signed up for the free consultation. Administrators seem impressed by the savings.

“If we have a classroom with incandescent lighting and we switch to fluorescent lighting, the amount we save is enough to run an air conditioner,” said Chris Gorman, superintendent of maintenance and operations for the Ojai Unified School District.

Throckmorton’s program, funded for two years through the California Energy Extension Service, reaches beyond switching to energy-efficient hardware.

“Just changing light bulbs is not enough,” she said. In her view, school employees and students must get involved in energy conservation. One way, she said, is for schools to pick students for energy patrols that would make sure lights are turned off during recesses and lunch.