Northshore Named Most Energy Efficient District

BOTHELL, WASH.
Northshore School District is the top Energy Star school district in the state with 11 schools receiving the Energy Star Award in 2008.

Energy Star, a joint venture of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Energy, is a voluntary labeling program established in 1992 to help identify and promote energy efficient practices and products that help consumers save money while protecting the environment. Schools must meet stringent EPA performance standards, by using less energy and emitting fewer greenhouse gas emissions than competitors, to receive the Energy Star Award. To qualify, a school must score in the top 25 percent based on the EPA National Energy Performance Rating system, which measures a school’s performance against the energy usage of similar schools while taking into account such criteria as operating conditions, local weather patterns, and others.

Northshore also won an Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools National Excellence Award in recognition of its efforts to improve air quality for students, teachers and staff members. McKinstry Co., Seattle, serves as the district’s energy services company.

The combination of energy retrofits, conservation initiatives and energy usage and performance monitoring has enabled Northshore to save more than $200,000 in energy expenditures for the 2008–09 school year—enough energy to power 176 single-family homes.