Two of my kids went to a co-op preschool which meant that the parents ran the school, including volunteering for things like taking care of the facilities and doing the bookkeeping. At our public elementary school, the parents also played a large role as part of the PTO in raising money for school necessities like computers, library books, and playground maintenance.
The best way to raise money for a school can be by saving money but saving money on power bills at school can be very challenging because children are always on the go. They do not take the time to even think about the energy bill; even if they did, they would not know what to do to help. The best ways to cut electricity bills in your school start from the top. Let’s dig into this a little bit more.
1. Light Bulbs – The original bulbs placed in the school’s lighting fixtures are not very energy efficient. Take the time to change them all out for LEDs or CFLs. They will pay for themselves within a short matter of time.
2. Television And Monitors – Upgrading the screens used in the classrooms can decrease power usage substantially because of the number of them being used. Most of the computers are old-school systems with old monitors that suck power. Use some of the yearly funds and switch them out for the newer monitors and TVs.
3. Energy Saving Power Strips – Plug everything into power strips that will turn the electronics off when they are not in use. This will not only help save power at night but also save it during the day when not in use. Powering the systems down will decrease power usage throughout the day and year.
4. Cooling And Heating – The old systems that run most schools can use too much power to work properly. If you have the means to upgrade the systems to it. Otherwise, take the time to insulate the rooms within the school. Seal the doors and windows, use the natural sunlight to warm things up, and pull the drapes to keep the cold out.
5. Compare Power Providers – If there is more than one supplier in your area, you should use an electricity compare site to see the rates they will offer you. Since you are a large school and take a chunk of power to stay operating, the power company hooking you up to the grid should be able to cut you a discount. If they don’t want that, check with another provider until you find one that actually wants your business and money.
6. Sensors In Rooms – There is no point in having the lights on in rooms that are not being used. If you install sensors in all the rooms on the lights, you do not ever have to worry about the children turning them off when they leave. Sensors make life easier for everyone in the school and can impact the power bill substantially.
7. Upgrade The Kitchen – One of the oldest areas in the school is undoubtedly the kitchen. Old ovens take a long time to heat up and take a ton of power to run. Once again, spending the money to upgrade will cost a chunk of the yearly budget, but the savings will be easily seen on the next power bill.
8. Solar Power – A school is a perfect place to install solar panels because they have plenty of room on top of their flat roofs. These panels can generate enough power to run the entire school, with some extra to share with the neighboring businesses. Smaller ones to run the primary energy-using areas, if large panels are too much, could help decrease the power bill. But you will still be keeping traditional power active in case the batteries hooked to the solar panels run out of juice.
9. Water Use – The timers on all the sinks and drinking fountains can be adjusted to reduce wasted water currently being used. You do not need to have the water running after the children leave the area, which will shut the pumps down faster, making them more energy-efficient.
10. Personal Mobile Devices – When you have a couple of mobile devices plugged in to charge, you will use a small amount of unnecessary power. Now, multiply that by 100 and see how much energy you can save. While in school, encourage your students to turn them off or leave them at home.
You can see that most of these ways to save money on electricity bills at school require an investment upfront. Newer schools should already be updated to decrease the power they use, but older schools will have to actively make some changes to improve their energy efficiency. Once the school board authorizes the use of their funds to improve energy consumption, you will see the amount due on the bill finally going down instead of up through the roof.
image from Pixabay
p.s. Related posts:
4 Tips to Saving Money on Your Kids School Attire
How to Save Enough Money for Your Child’s College Education
Teaching Kids about Money: Spend, Save, Donate
To examine any book more closely at Indiebound or Amazon, please click on image of book.
As an Amazon and IndieBound Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
My books:
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
- Starred review from School Library Journal
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
