Pennsylvania Elementary School Learns Energy Efficiencies Pay Great Dividends

BUFFALO GROVE, Ill., July 6 /PRNewswire/ -- While Fortune 500 corporations race to lower energy costs, an elementary school in Pennsylvania could teach them a thing or two about efficiency. Candlebrook Elementary, in King of Prussia, helped reduce its District's energy bill by more than $300,000 and now has a chance to win $25,000 in products and services from the Siemens Smartest Building in America™ Challenge.

A part of the Upper Merion Area School District (UMASD), Candlebrook Elementary is an 11-year-old, conventionally heated and cooled building. Several years ago, Candlebrook was chosen to become a model of energy efficiency for the entire school district.  It focused on reducing energy consumption through smarter use of its building automation system. Its results have been more than impressive – Candlebrook has managed to slash its electricity consumption by 53% and its natural gas consumption by 43%, achieving a 98 ENERGY STAR rating.

Now, all six of the Upper Merion Area School District's schools are running on an integrated Siemens APOGEE™ Building Automation System.  The District has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as an ENERGY STAR leader after reducing energy consumption district wide by 30 percent.

According to the Frederick Remelius, the Buildings & Grounds Supervisor at UMASD, the real benefit is clear, "a $336,444.28 reduction in our PECO (local utility) bill."  Based on rough calculations, if you assume UMASD is an average-sized school district, and if this innovative use of its building automation systems was replicated by the 15,000 + school districts nationwide, the nation's school districts could potentially save $5,000,000,000, according to Remelius.

"A challenge to energy efficiency," he says, "is that there are a lot of consultants and engineers running around saying you can achieve energy savings, but very few of them actually know how to achieve it other than by replacing old equipment.  By thinking hard about smart ways to use your BAS, you can really make a huge difference in energy savings, improve the environment and save money for your organization."

The Smartest Building in America™ challenge promotes how people use the sophisticated technology that keeps America's buildings operating. The challenge looks for innovative and creative approaches taken by facility managers.  The deadline for entering is July 15.

To learn more about Candlebrook's accomplishments, and Smartest Building in America Challenge go to www.smartestbuildinginamerica.com.

About Siemens

Siemens Industry, Inc. (SII) is the U.S. affiliate of Siemens' global Industry Sector business—the world's leading supplier of production, transportation and building technology solutions. The company's integrated hardware and software technologies enable comprehensive industry-specific solutions for industrial and infrastructure providers to increase their productivity, sustainability and profitability. The Industry Sector includes six divisions: Building Technologies, Industry Automation, Industry Solutions, Mobility, Drive Technologies and OSRAM SYLVANIA.  With nearly 222,000 Siemens Industry Sector employees worldwide, the Industry Sector posted a worldwide profit of $2.7 billion on revenues of $47.7 billion in fiscal 2009.  www.usa.siemens.com/Industry

A division of Siemens Industry, Inc. (SII), Building Technologies (BT) Division is a leading provider of energy and environmental solutions, building controls, electrical distribution equipment, fire safety and security systems solutions.  BT's solutions enable America's buildings to be more comfortable, secure and environmentally friendly as well as less costly to operate. With a U.S. headquarters in Buffalo Grove, Ill., BT employs 7,400 people and provides a full range of services and solutions from more than 100 locations coast-to-coast. Worldwide, the company has 28,000 employees and operates from more than 500 locations in 51 countries. The Building Technologies Division posted worldwide revenues of $8.1 billion in fiscal 2009.

www.usa.siemens.com/buildingtechnologies

SOURCE Siemens Industry, Inc.