Comments on: Legislature to examine energy efficiency programs for schools

By: David Furr

David Furr — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 20:52:08 +0000

I have worked with schools across Oregon for ~20 years now; first with ODOE for 10 yrs and lately with a large district for 9yrs. More than half of the schools are older than 40 years – and still running original equipment and controls. The efficiency measures in most schools I have visited are minimally functional or have been defeated due to lack of operator training.

There is tremendous need for efficiency upgrades across the board. However, in my opinion, the need is even greater to have adequate training for the men and women who operate these buildings. These good people are usually custodians and often (esp. in small districts) have responsibilities in other areas such as maintenance, grounds and/or teaching.

Even the most efficient equipment will underperform if the operator is not knowledgeable. Conversely, even the poorest equipment will operate at its optimum if the operator is knowledgeable.

Please train all school building operators first. Raise the baseline skillset across the state; THEN put efficiency projects into place.

By: Bob Clark

Bob Clark — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 02:17:23 +0000

Taking more from taxpayers and handing it over to bureaucrats for a few temporary construction and repair jobs really hasn’t done much to stimulate economy for most of the past three years since the Great Recession. Better to keep taxes low so as to entice more free market animal spirits and entrepreneurship. This is Oregon leaderships number one philosphical shortcomming – A linear logic stuck on trying to grow the economy through higher taxation.

As for conservation. BPA has found that conservation is not something to be ramped up sharply but something that builds gradually. So, throwing a lot of money at it suddenly is a not a practical strategy.

By: NativePDX

NativePDX — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 16:43:15 +0000

I thought we were broke and were going to cut spending?

By: Marvin McConoughey

Marvin McConoughey — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 16:27:20 +0000

Hello Pork!

Yes, energy efficiency is good. But only when it achieves more for the buck than competing expenditures. The present efforts smell mightily of a top-down driven spending programs with unclear aims. As we enter the era of declining American economic fortunes, efforts to spend more rather than less should get harsh scrutiny.

Schools have already spent much on energy efficiency. One suspects that the most productive efforts have been made. 2. Schools are in session only part of the year. 3. Schools seldom operate on a24-hour, 7-day-per-week basis. 3.) Schools usually have large masses of students who themselves contribute to heating efforts, though costing more for cooling on hot days.

Any energy conservation effort should assure that the value of spending exceeds the cost.. One suspects that the sponsors of these bills will pay little heed to long term economic wisdom.

Spending merely to create short-term jobs is wasteful because the money to pay for the programs must be paid back at some level.