In the excell project as we did in the last, any roof that is replaced is also upgraded with more insulation.  With the completion of this project the entire school will have the benefit of the maximum roof insulation SED will approve. We also are increasing efficiency in many other areas such as lighting, pool heating, domestic hot water heating, kitchen exhaust hood control, and building management control upgrades. 

With all this said, we are still required to bring in 20% outside air to classrooms any time they are occupied. It's sort of like having a couple windows open with fans blowing. This is typically done through a direct vent to the outside.  It is a tremendous waste of energy, but required to make sure the air is fresh in the rooms. The only time this vent will shut during occupied hours is to protect itself from freezing.

 If we do all we can to make the building the best it can be, the only other answer to cut cost is to make the energy itself less expensive. We hope to accomplish this with the biomass boiler burning waste product from the local logging industry. This fuel should be at 50% to 75% cheaper per BTU than fuel oil. The added benefit is that wood is considered a green fuel.  As time goes on I'm sure new ways to save energy will become available to us, hopefully we can implement them as they come.