at Lincoln Public Schools Sustainability Sustainability

Energy Conservation Superstars

Lincoln Public Schools tracks the energy performance of the more than eight million square feet of facilities managed by the district through an Energy Star Portfolio Manager tool. This tool not only allows the district to monitor electricity, gas and water consumption, but it also generates an ENERGY STAR score.

This score is an external benchmark for assessing the performance of commercial buildings and is measured on a scale from 1-100. It is calculated based on the energy efficiency of the building compared to similar buildings across the United States.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of ENERGY STAR, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is offering special, one-time recognition to any organization that earns EPA’s ENERGY STAR certification for five or more buildings in 2022. Eligible organizations gain “membership” to ENERGY STAR Certification Nation depending on how many buildings they certify in 2022.

Lincoln Public Schools earned ENERGY STAR certification for nine buildings this year, making the organization an official member of Certification Nation.

To earn the ENERGY STAR, a building must be independently verified to operate more efficiently than 75% of similar properties nationwide. ENERGY STAR certified buildings use an average of 35 percent less energy and are responsible for 35 percent less carbon dioxide emissions than typical buildings.

LPS has nearly 50 buildings eligible for certification based on having an ENERGY STAR score of 75 or higher.

Many of our schools adopted various initiatives this year, which significantly improved their ENERGY STAR scores.

Some upgrades our building made to be more energy efficient include:

• Installing geothermal well fields, heating and cooling its buildings with high efficiency geothermal heat pumps.

• Placing energy recovery units to recover the heat from exhaust air and condition ventilation air.

• Replacing old windows with new ones with better insulation and less air leakage.

• Adding LED lighting for energy efficiency.

• Utilizing building automzation systems to ensure equipment is running at peak efficiency.

Congratulations to all the 2022 ENERGY STAR certified schools in our school district!

LPS will continue going through the verification process with more buildings each year and growing the number of schools recognized for their excellent building performance.

2022 ENERGY STAR Certifications & Scores

• Arnold Elementary- 87

• Belmont Elementary – 96

(also 2021 certified)

• Fredstrom Elementary – 88

• Hill Elementary – 92

• Irving Middle – 97

(also 2021 certified)

• Lefler Middle – 96

• Maxey Elementary – 85

• Pyrtle Elementary – 99