A few stars in Canyons School District are helping to make CSD’s dream for energy-efficient buildings come true.

Crescent Elementary School in November 2014 received the first Energy Star rating in Canyons District with a 92 percent efficiency score – meaning the school has cut back on energy usage to a level that translates into a $30,000 savings in energy costs last school year alone. CSD’s energy-efficiency efforts are led by Energy Specialist Chris Eppler, who expects 14 more Canyons schools to become Energy Star Schools in 2015.

Crescent Elementary worked  to earn the Energy Star rating by involving students in energy use management, says Principal Debbie Shumard. “Conserving energy is a group effort. We set up an energy team with our students in the beginning. This team went around giving awards to classrooms with lights out and outside doors closed.”

Crescent Elementary and Shumard’s vigilance helped the school be the first to realize CSD’s energy efficiency goal, imagined by Eppler when the District was established in 2009 and reiterated through the Board of Education’s Energy Management Resolution in 2012. The resolution committed the District to creating energy-smart and efficient schools that support student learning, cut operational costs and reduce energy use. The Board aimed to cut energy consumption by up to 20 percent via lighting and mechanical equipment upgrades, utility costs monitoring, water-wise landscaping, and training and reporting components.

Since 2009, CSD has received nearly $566,000 in rebates for power efficiencies. The District also has received federal grants for energy-efficient lighting upgrades in schools and for recommissioning to help schools run more efficiently.