INDIANAPOLIS — After years of dedicated energy conservation efforts, including a partnership with Cenergistic LLC, Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) attained Goal Achiever certification from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Better Buildings Challenge for 2019-2020.
“Prior to 2016, our district had not done anything on energy, and for the next two years, after joining the Better Buildings Challenge, we had only made small, incremental changes in our use. We brought Cenergistic onboard in 2018, and in two years, we’re down 26 percent in energy usage,” said Scott Martin, IPS Chief Operations Officer. “We want to take it even further, shooting for another 20 percent in the next two years.”
To reach Goal Achiever status, IPS cut energy use by 26 percent across its 80 facilities. The partnership with Cenergistic, an energy conservation company, played a major role in this considerable energy reduction. Since the partnership’s beginning in 2018, 10 IPS buildings have earned ENERGY STAR® Certification.
“I am pleased to recognize Indianapolis Public Schools for achieving its Better Buildings Challenge goal,” said Daniel R. Simmons, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at DOE. “Through their commitment to affordable, efficient energy, our goal achievers are displaying leadership and demonstrating the potential for public-private partnerships to drive energy cost savings in buildings and our communities.”
To find opportunities for energy conservation, Cenergistic engineers, experts and Energy Specialists work closely with IPS personnel to audit and optimize energy-using systems across the organization to achieve peak efficiency. Cenergistic Energy Specialists track energy consumption at all campuses with the company’s GreenX software platform, identifying waste and driving conservation.
“Gaining certification from the Better Buildings Challenge demonstrates IPS’ commitment to sustainability and economic responsibility,” said Dr. Randy Hoff, P.E., Vice Chairman at Cenergistic. “We are proud to have played a key role in the district’s rise to energy excellence.”
IPS has participated in a number of other initiatives to reduce energy consumption. Partnerships with Energizing Indiana, an organization specializing in solar panel installation training, and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) have furthered the district’s efforts to reduce waste. Through the first year of a rebate program with Indianapolis Power and Light, IPS received $335,000 for its districtwide energy reduction.
“The first thing that stands out in our relationship with Cenergistic is the amount of energy that we’ve saved,” said Martin. “Through our relationship with Cenergistic, we’re going to double the initial estimate [of energy savings for the Better Buildings Challenge].”
You can read the full writeup on the IPS website.
About Indianapolis Public Schools
The largest public school district in Indiana, diverse in both population and choice, Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) is an agile, innovative educational organization committed to academic excellence built through individualized, relationship based learning. IPS covers 80 square miles, with 80 buildings comprising 7.79 million square feet of education and administrative facilities, employs over 6,000 people, and serves over 30,000 students.
About Cenergistic
Since 1986 Cenergistic has partnered with 1470+ educational, municipal government and healthcare organizations to achieve $5.8 billion in utility savings and cost avoidance. These strong results come from the application of Cenergistic’s organizational behavior-based strategies and are enhanced by our proprietary software platform to drive building and equipment optimization. Our energy conservation program reduces utility consumption by an average of 25% with no capital investment while maintaining or improving the comfort and quality of building environments. For more than a decade, Cenergistic has been recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency as ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year or Partner of the Year – Sustained Excellence. To learn more, visit www.cener2staging.wpengine.com.
About Better Buildings Challenge
The Better Buildings Challenge is one component of the Better Buildings Initiative, through which DOE partners with 950 public and private sector organizations to drive cost-effective and proven strategies to improve the energy efficiency of the nation’s buildings, plants, and homes. To date, nearly $11 billion and 1.8 quadrillion British thermal units (Btus) of energy have been saved by partners in Better Buildings.
Through Better Buildings, DOE aims to make commercial, public, industrial, and residential buildings 20% more energy efficient over the next decade. This means saving billions of dollars on energy bills, reducing emissions, and creating thousands of jobs. Discover more than 2,800 proven solutions from Better Buildings, Better Plants partners in the Better Buildings Solution Center.
