IPS earns national recognition for energy efficiency in school buildings
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis Public Schools is getting some national recognition.
IPS announced Thursday that 17 of their school buildings have earned the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR Certification. That’s up from their 10 energy-efficient school buildings in 2023.
To earn the ENERGY STAR Certification, buildings must rank in the top 25% nationwide for energy efficiency and meet ventilation standards.
According to a news release, the school says “the cost of utilities is the second largest budget line-item for the district, and the prices for electricity, natural gas, heating oil, and water have been steadily increasing.”
To combat the rising prices, IPS partnered with energy consultant Cenergistic to implement conservation programs in the district’s buildings.
Energy specialists have also been tracking IPS energy consumption at all campuses through state-of-the-art technology to identify and correct areas where energy may be overused.
During a presentation to the IPS Board of School Commissioners, William Murphy, the district’s chief operations officer, said that since partnering with Cenergistic on a comprehensive energy conservation program in 2018, IPS has saved $22,860,552.
Officials estimate the environmental impact of the energy-efficient schools is equal to taking 21,144 cars off the street for a year or planting 2,045,749 trees in Indianapolis.
The 17 IPS buildings earning ENERGY STAR Certification include:
- Carl Wilde School 79
- Charity Dye School 27
- Meredith Nicholson School 96
- Christel House Schools at Manual High School
- Charles Warren Fairbanks School 105
- Eleanor Skillen School 34
- Francis W. Parker School 56
- George W. Carver School 87
- Henry W. Longfellow Middle School
- William Bell School 60 (Butler Lab School 60)
- James A. Garfield School 31
- Positive Supports Academy
- Ralph W. Emerson School 58
- Raymond F. Brandes School 65
- Rousseau McClellan School 91
- Theodore Potter School 74
- Thomas D. Gregg Neighborhood School