Urbana School District 116 is working to create service audits designed for energy savings for Urbana High School. The school board voted to approve a contract to audit at a meeting March 16. Control Technology and Solutions, or CTS, is performing a $15,000 energy audit that began approximately two weeks ago.

Ota Dossett, director of Urbana School District Facilities Services, said the audit consists of an inventory of equipment and lighting and monitoring devices installed throughout the high school that oversee power usage.

“Most everything is done except for the completion of the monitoring, which I think is complete this Friday,” Dossett said.

Dossett said the high school and the middle school have both been audited by the Smart Energy Design Assistance Center, or SEDAC, managed by the University’s School of Architecture. According to SEDAC’s Web site, they provide analyses for state facilities to increase economic viability through the efficient use of energy resources.

“They (district elementary schools) have all had lighting and other energy improvements, but the high school has not,” Dossett said. “The high school was renovated in 1985, and many of the other schools had not been renovated since they were built.”

Dossett said once CTS completes the audit, they will present their findings to the board to determine cost savings and capital expense.

“An audit is an educational process,” Dossett said. “This is a formalized energy audit with definitive recommendations and cost factors on actions to make energy improvements.”

Dossett said the difference between SEDAC’s analysis and the CTS audit is that SEDAC advised the district on general improvements while CTS is creating engineering plans. The CTS proposal suggested installing energy-efficient lighting and flash controls in bathrooms, already in district elementary schools. Urbana Middle School was renovated in 2000 and already has energy-efficient lighting, Dossett said.

“We’ve been very aggressive as a school district in converting our lighting program to more energy-efficient lighting,” said John Dimit, school board president. “It’s brighter and yet uses way less electricity, creating a better learning environment for our children.”

Dossett said energy improvements are evaluated based on dollars available and payback. Dossett said the reason the high school has not yet had energy improvements is due to the district budget.

“You can’t afford to do that all at once,” Dossett said. “There are over 2,000 lighting fixtures at the high school.”

Preston Williams, superintendent of district 116 schools, said a 2009 report indicated that energy conservation measures were necessary in the district.

“The high school is one of the major users of energy along with the middle school,” Williams said. “Utiltiies will actually save money in the education fund.”