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Residents were guided through the halls of Whitman-Hanson Regional High School on Saturday, Oct. 3 during the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association’s green buildings open house.
Green technologies and other innovations have made the high school the model for the state. Matt Dyer, president of the Student Environmental Awareness Club, taught residents about the school’s energy, power and financial conservation measures. The district saves an average of $100,000 dollars per year, 62,000 kilowatts per year of electricity from renewable energy and an estimated 603,540 gallons of water per year. Whitman Hanson has been able to cut costs while being environmentally efficient. There are over 300 classrooms in the high school and only eight of them do not benefit from natural lighting, Dyer said. Every classroom conserves energy with auto-adjusting lights. “On a sunny day, the lights auto-adjust and dim, using less energy than they would on a darker, cloudier day,” Dyer said. “Each classroom is also equipped with both motion and acoustic sensors.” Dyer said the motion sensors are important because after about 45 minutes they will shut off if there is no movement detected in the room. Any sudden movement will trigger the lights to come back on. An audible shout can also trigger the lights to turn back on. “These are the acoustic sensors kicking in, and they pick up any form of loud noise, saving a lot of energy that tends to be wasted,” Dyer said. The lights in the hallways are also powered by sunlight. The electricity is collected through 447 solar panels on the roof of the school, producing 52kW of electricity providing five percent of the electricity in the building. Another energy efficient room in the high school is the performing arts center. The auditorium’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning system has the ability to sense the amount of bodies present in the room by the exhalation of CO2 sensor, providing just enough air ventilation for the amount of people present. CO2 sensors save energy and ensure the electricity isn’t wasted, Dyer said. The natural acoustic amplifiers are equally important. They allow the sound of one voice to be carried throughout the entire area without the use of a microphone. Not using a microphone is a simple way to reduce the electricity consumption and save energy, he said. The high school also has a 20,000 gallon underwater tank which collects runoff water from the roof of the building. The water is reused to flush toilets and urinals throughout the school providing a 38 percent savings, according to an informational package. In the future Whitman-Hanson hopes to invest in a wind turbine which would allow for educational demonstrations. Hanson Selectman Jim Armstrong was on the Building Projects Committee for the high school. “We had a great committee, made up of civil engineers, electrical engineers, technicians, and plumbers from both Whitman and Hanson. Everyone was practical. We put together a group of bright people who volunteered time and worked together to make this all happen, between staff, the RIT department, and the school department for technology,” Armstrong said. “The projects and designs for everything were in-house.” The towns have been giving the green buildings tour for five years and to me that is the greatest compliment, he said. October is energy saving month in the district. All seven schools are competing to conserve the most power during the month. The student environmental group, SEAC, will be visiting middle schools and elementary schools to teach them about going green, Dyer said.
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