August 29th, 2008 · No Comments

The fact that, compared to conventional schools, Desert Edge saves more than a million gallons of water each year is kinda nice too, though.

Also, Schmadeke notes with a laugh that kids are suddenly learning basic stuff, like turning off the light-switch (if not in a motion-sensor controlled area): “Just turn it off. There’s no better conservation rule than that,” he says. But Desert Edge High School, the campus itself, is definitely doing its part. Here are some of its amenities and touts.

Anatomy of a Green School

• Desert Edge uses 28 percent less energy than most traditional schools (or $58,000 in savings each year).

• 84 percent of construction waste was diverted from the landfill – or as the school’s Phoenix consultants, Green Ideas, calculated it: the equivalent in weight to 800-plus Honda Accords.

• 18 percent of building materials were recycled and more than 50 percent were locally sourced.

• Non-toxic materials and low Volatile Organic Compounds (low-VOC) are used throughout –- from paint to carpet to roofing to cleaning products.

• The school has Energy Star heat-reflective roofing, waterless urinals and low-flow faucets, as well as natural “day-lighting” (or when not possible, LED lights controlled by motion sensors).

• High-efficiency central cooling/heating control the indoor climate.

• Xeriscape exterior –- or, as Schmadeke likes to call it, “Zero-scaped” that is fed with water-conserving drip irrigation.

• Rain-water collection tanks.

• Carbon dioxide monitors are present throughout, so that when CO2 levels build up (causing drowsiness and unclear thinking), fresh air is automatically piped in.

• Vinyl floors are made from recycled materials.

• Anti-glare double-pane glass keeps UV rays out.

• The school is nearly pesticide free (some are used on athletic fields), and uses non-VOC cleaners.

• Calculations estimate that all these techniques together prevents about 29 kg of CO2 emissions monthly.

The school wasn’t able to afford solar energy, but its other assets apparently make up for that.

“All the low-hanging fruit has been picked, in terms of increasing the energy of systems. Now it’s shifting to people and behavior,” says Schmadeke, whose son Jonathan teaches science and physics at Desert Edge and oversees the Electric Car Club. (The younger Schmadeke, like his father, is proud of the school and takes new students on a campus-wide tour when they first enroll; the deliberately exposed structure allows them to observe, first-hand, its construction and inner workings. Call it a school-as-learning tool.)

While education is foremost for most green schools, the cost-saving aspects are awfully appealing, too.

According to the study “Greening America’s Schools: Costs and Benefits, 2006″ –- sponsored in part by the American Federation of Teachers, the American Institute of Architects and the American Lung Association –- the average school could save at least $100,000 a year in utilities if it instituted certain green components.

The study went on to point out that said savings could pay the salaries for two new full-time teachers (maybe in some districts) or purchase 5,000 new text books or 500 computers. The study also corrected a frequent misconception: that building green costs way more than not. Its findings showed that in general, to build according to LEED costs only 2 percent more (or $3 extra per square foot), and the schools recoup that in energy savings within the first year.

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