Interview Notes - Micky, 11/8/07

Q. Possibilities for reducing energy consumption at MA:
Potential areas: Gas,
Electricity -- timers, dimmers, night time
Landscaping, Janitorial
Roofs, solar panels

A: We already have time clocks, motion and light sensors. Outside
lights go on at dusk and go out at 0200 when all activities on campus
are over (janitors leave by then). We have a combination of different
kinds of lights. We got the best at the time of renovations.
Incandescents were changed to fluorescents with reconstruction.
Proximity switches are motion activated. The two new buildings have
computerized systems.
We have difficulty tracking energy usage in each individual building
because not every building is metered for gas and electric usage. We
can only look at the total bills. It would be good to break down
individual buildings for their energy usage. That would allow us to
know where to put resources into improving efficiency. Probably better
to do the solar in older buildings (less efficient) than the new ones.
Renovation schedule for buildings is about a 25 year cycle. Next
remodel will be Thatcher (now 15 years old). We have two different
kinds of roofing material -- tar and gravel, lasts 15-18 years;
shingled last 25 years (e.g. Thatcher).

Q. How do we minimize outdoor lighting usage?

A. Probably little reduction possible due to after school activities
and janitorial needs till 2 AM.

Q. Gas usage

A. Buildings are not divided on a North-South basis but are controlled
in random groupings not correlated to where the sun is (eastern
exposure warms in the AM, western in the PM). This cannot be changed
now. Each room has a thermostat that people can control. There is no
program for holiday schedule. 40 separate thermostats on campus and
only 4 staff -- not possible to go around controlling all rooms all
day long. Consider next level of controls: computerized program. It's
a waste of time to consider changing lighting, as this has already
been determined by architects and engineers. We don't understand the
energy usage of each building or where the greatest savings lie, nor
do we know the roof top capacity for photovoltaic cells.

**********

From: "Michael Morris" <mmorris@ma.org>
Date: November 8, 2007 2:39:26 PM PST
To: "'Sarah Olverson'" <solverson@ma.org>
Subject: Energy
Hi Sarah,
I wanted to thank you and your team for the opportunity to sit down and talk
about the more involved issues around energy conservation and solar energy.
I did however feel that my answer to the last question asked was lacking.
The question was (and I'm paraphrasing): If the decision came down to spend
more money on an initiative and protect the environment, would we spend more
money?
It took me a little while to ponder the question because I couldn't come up
with any solid examples to give; my mind was just on energy. Now that I've
had a moment I would have to say the answer is yes, and here are some
examples:
The last two school vans were replaced with vehicles having diesel engines.
The School felt it was important to have the option of using bio-diesel.
Each van with the diesel option cost the School an additional $8000.
We now use recycled paper products throughout the campus. This has cost my
department alone an additional 30% per year.
We now have an employee whose responsibility is to manage the School's
recycling.
I'm currently working on a proposal to upgrade the HVAC controls on the two
new buildings. Adding the controls will be expensive but it will reduce our
energy use.
I hope this better answers the young man's question.
Best,
Micky