NCEC implementation for high schools

Running the National Campus Energy Challenge at your high school will be different from the way it is run at colleges and universities: students do not live on campus, schools are smaller, many operations decisions are made at the school board level, etc. However, there are tons of ideas to help reduce energy consumption and use the NCEC to make lasting change at your school.

Lasting Change

• Work with school administration to make sure the heating is at an appropriate level. Many schools over heat their buildings in the winter, so ask to have the temperature turned down a couple of degrees during February
• Ask the school or school board to get school buses to stop or reduce idling in front of the school. Not only does it use lots of energy, but no one wants to breath all the exhaust fumes.
• Get the school district to adopt a policy that when they replace appliances (computers, refrigerators, overhead projectors, etc.) that they buy efficient replacements. This does not have to be an immediate change, and will save them money in the long run.
• Get the lights on the fields turn off earlier, or ask for half of the lights to be turned off.

Individual Energy Use (for more ideas check out Ways to reduce individual energy consumption)

• Work with teachers and janitors to make sure they turn off the lights, computers (in class rooms, labs and the library) and overhead projectors when they are no longer needed.
• Encourage students and teachers to carpool to work. You can track how many car trips were saved over the course of the month.
• Encourage students to bring lunches to school or buy lunch there, rather than drive off-campus for lunch.

Creative Ideas

• Host a fundraiser during February. You can set it up as a class competition to see how much money each class can raise by the end of the month. You can also ask the PTA, school board or local service organizations to match however much you raise. You can use the funds for a number of things including purchasing a solar panel display, compact fluorescent lightbulbs, motion sensors for lights, etc. These can also be used for science class labs after they are installed.
• Hold "Blackout Days" where for the entire day, lunch, or a couple of periods, the lights are turned off throughout the school and classes use natural sunlight instead. Make sure that rooms without windows still have power. You can ask that they turn off half of the lights instead.
• Create a visual display to track the individual actions students and faculty have taken to reduce energy use. This could be in the form of a tree and for each action people take to reduce energy use they get to put a leaf on the tree. Better yet, you can also make this a grade or department (for faculty) competition and see which group has the most leaves by the end of the week.