by Brianna Crandall — April 23, 2014—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on April 17 that an elementary school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has won the annual Energy Star National Building Competition: Battle of the Buildings. Teams from more than 3,000 buildings across the country spent the past year competing to obtain the greatest reduction in energy use. Claiborne Elementary School won by cutting its energy use nearly in half.
In support of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, which calls for buildings to cut waste and become at least 20 percent more energy efficient by 2020, the competition targeted wasted energy in buildings and motivated building owners and occupants to improve energy efficiency, reduce harmful carbon pollution, and save money. Energy use in commercial buildings accounts for nearly 20 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions at a cost of more than $100 billion per year, according to EPA.
Together, competitors in this year’s National Building Competition saved more than $20 million and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 130,000 metric tons—equal to the annual electricity use of nearly 18,000 homes. Many organizations used the competition to involve people—such as staff and students—who might not ordinarily be engaged in such efforts.
Teams from more than 25 different types of commercial buildings faced off in this year’s Energy Star National Building Competition, representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Nearly 50 buildings demonstrated energy use reductions of 20 percent or greater in a single year.
The top overall finishers and their percentage-based reductions in energy use include:
- Claiborne Elementary School, Baton Rouge, LA (45.9%)
- Hillside Center II, Columbia, MD (37.1%)
- Lake Local – Lake High School/Wellness Center, Uniontown, OH (36.2%)
- UNC-Chapel Hill Bioinformatics Building, Chapel Hill, NC (35.8%)
- High Construction Company Building 105, Mechanicsburg, PA (35.3%)
- JCPenney, Shawnee, OK (33.9%)
- Studebaker Elementary School, Des Moines, IA (31.9%)
- McCombs Middle School, Des Moines, IA (29.7%)
- Eastman Chemical Company Building B-470, Kingsport, TN (29.6%)
- Eastman Chemical Company Building B-469, Kingsport, TN (29.6%)
- South Greene High School, Greeneville, TN (29.2%)
- Fourth Walnut Centre, Cincinnati, OH (29.2%)
- DeBusk Elementary School, Greeneville, TN (29.1%)
- University of Florida’s Physical Plant Division Central Stores, Gainesville, FL (29.0%)
- West Middle School, Shelbyville, KY (28.9%)
The winner, Claiborne Elementary School, taught students and teachers what actions they could take every day to save energy. Suggestions included adjusting thermostats, keeping doors and windows closed when the heat or air conditioner is on, turning off lights when they are last to leave a room, and making sure all electronic devices are shut off at the end of each day. The school also fine-tuned automated controls of the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) and lighting systems, making sure that lights were turned off in unoccupied areas and that the heating and cooling systems were optimized to run only when necessary.
West Middle School of Shelbyville, Kentucky, with a 28.9% reduction of its energy usage, was named the MVP for the competition, and Trane Commercial Systems (in the Office category) of City of Industry, California, with a 3.0% reduction, was named the Top Tenant.
The fourth annual Energy Star National Building Competition measured energy performance for the entire 2013 calendar year. Competitors tracked their buildings’ monthly energy consumption using EPA’s online energy tracking tool, Energy Star Portfolio Manager. The energy use reductions for each top finisher were verified by an independently licensed professional engineer or registered architect at the end of the competition.
Thousands of businesses and organizations work with EPA’s Energy Star program and are saving billions of dollars, preventing millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere each year, says EPA. Products, homes and buildings that earn the Energy Star label prevent greenhouse gas emissions by meeting strict energy efficiency requirements. The Energy Star label can now be found on products in more than 70 different categories, with more than 4.5 billion sold. Over 1.5 million new homes and 23,000 office buildings, schools and hospitals have earned the Energy Star label.
More information on the Energy Star National Building Competition, including top overall finishers and top finishers by building category, an interactive map of competitors, and a wrap-up report, is available on the Battle of the Buildings Web page.
The Energy Star Web site also includes information specific to commercial Buildings and Plants, and helpful sections for Facility Owners and Managers, such as the ENERGY STAR for Existing Buildings page.
