by Brianna Crandall — April 24, 2013—The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on April 23 that Demarest Elementary School in Bloomfield, New Jersey has emerged as the winner of the EPA’s third-annual Energy Star National Building Competition, rising above more than 3,000 schools, businesses, and government buildings across the country that competed to see which could reduce its energy use the most in one year. Nearly 400 competitors also tracked and reduced their water consumption; Webster Bank’s Oak St. Office in Brockton, Massachusetts, led the pack by reducing its water use by 80%.
Energy and water reductions were measured for the entire 2012 calendar year. Competitors tracked their buildings’ monthly energy consumption using EPA’s online energy tracking tool, Energy Star Portfolio Manager , and those measuring water consumption utilized the EPA’s WaterSense program.
Demarest Elementary School won the Battle of the Buildings competition by demonstrating a 52% energy use reduction. The school reportedly identified and addressed a number of overlooked mechanical and energy management issues that added up to significant reductions in energy use and costs. Mechanical fixes included replacing a heat timer associated with the control system to allow it to run on a more energy-efficient schedule. In addition, the head custodian adjusted boiler operations based on outside temperature and changes in weather, and adjusted the hall lighting schedule so that lights were dimmed in the early morning and after students were dismissed. The staff also took control of energy management in their immediate areas by turning off and unplugging electronic devices.
The top overall finishers and their percent-based reductions in energy use are:
- K-12 school: Demarest Elementary School, Bloomfield, NJ (52.1%)
- Other building type: AAFES Ft. Hood Warrior Way Express Store B85001, Ft. Hood, TX (48.5%)
- Retail store: Toms River Verizon Wireless, Toms River, NJ (43.1%)
- K-12 school: Shamrock Springs Elementary School, Westfield, IN (42.1%)
- Other building type: Hemphill Water Treatment Plant & Pumping Station, Atlanta, GA (40.6%)
- Retail store: Kmart store #4863, Gillette, WY (40.2%)
- Courthouse: Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Courthouse, Newark, NJ (36.8%)
- K-12 school: Craigmont High School, Memphis, TN (34.6%)
- Office: San Antonio Federal Building, San Antonio, TX (34.4%)
- K-12 school: Bloomfield Middle School, Bloomfield, NJ (34.3%)
- Office: North Carolina Area Health Education Center Building, Chapel Hill, NC (34.3%)
- Warehouse: Walsh & Associates, Inc., St. Louis, MO (34.0%)
- Retail store: Kmart store #9348, Norridge, IL (33.4%)
- Warehouse: Customer Care and Aftersales, Ypsilanti, MI (31.0%)
- Retail store: Kmart store #7499, Mt. Vernon, OH (30.8%)
Together, competitors of this year’s National Building Competition cut their energy costs by more than $50 million, saved more than three billion kBtus of energy, and reduced annual greenhouse gas emissions equal to the amount of electricity used by more than 43,000 homes, notes the EPA. Eighty-nine buildings in the competition demonstrated energy use reductions of 20% or greater.
The EPA says its announcement reflects President Obama’s continued commitment to increasing energy efficiency under his administration, aligning with the goal set in his State of the Union address to cut in half the energy wasted by U.S. homes and businesses over the next 20 years. “The impressive results of the National Building Competition help show that any building can take simple steps to improve the energy efficiency of the buildings where we all work, play, and learn,” said EPA Acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe.
More information on the 2012 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 EPA Web site.
