Business Sectors    Education

California learning institutions range in age and construction as dramatically as the state ranges in climate. From small elementary schools to sprawling college campuses, California’s education administrators are facing growing challenges as energy costs continue to spiral and energy resources dwindle.

Comverge understands the immediate need to help California schools become sustainable. And what it will take to accomplish this.

According to Flex Your Power, California's Energy Efficiency Coalition, 40% of a school’s total energy use is spent in lighting. Comverge has the technology to dramatically impact that number. Also, to improve the efficiency of indoor air quality and temperature systems, automate load shedding and provide innovative solutions through expert analysis of your educational institution’s energy infrastructure. The California Energy Commission estimates 20% average annual savings from these systems.

Comverge has helped many different types of schools realize opportunities to save energy and money in:

• Lighting
• Central Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning  (HVAC)
• Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Systems
• On-site energy generation
• Refrigeration
• Laundry
• Motor systems (pumps, fans and compressors)

Case in Point
For a large, multi-campus university, Comverge technologists reprogrammed existing automated energy controls to allow for “temperature drift” over short periods during peak load and pricing spikes.  Specific areas of concern - such as ice storage systems and registration technologies - were tailored to realize further savings with no system impact.  More savings were realized when Comverge provided education on energy conservation methods.  By participating in Comverge’s unique Demand Response (DR) Program, the university has, since Q3 2006, received some $3 million – about $750,000 per fiscal quarter – in incentive payments. More importantly, through smaller scale retrofits of existing technologies, this institution continues to see clean energy savings with no capital expenditure!