Madison School District saves energy and money

Madison School District has saved nearly half a million dollars in its energy-conservation program.

Almost three years ago, the district started working with a company called Cenergistic. The company helped set a benchmark for their energy use and also looked at where cutbacks could be made.

“Energy prices went up and we started looking at ways to control it,” says Madison District maintenance director Reed Ellis on Tuesday.

Initially, the district cut back on machinery use like boilers, heat pumps and hot water heaters.

“As you get into it and you’re involved in it … you start to see the benefits, and they are huge,” said Ellis.

The conservation goes beyond cutting back on machinery use. The district also installed motion sensors for lights in the hall and traded in florescent light bulbs for LEDs.

The district has thousands of computers in the district and now instead of manually shutting each of them down, it uses a system that turns them off at 6 p.m.

“I can get on my phone, I can get on a computer. Somebody needs a little bit more heat in this room or less in this room, I can adjust it right from my phone,” says Ellis.

He said the benefits are great because the district can now spend that money on other programs.

Thirty-five months into the program, district has saved a total of $403,000.

On Thursday evening the district will be presented with an environmental excellence award to recognize its efforts.