Saving Money, Reducing Pollution, Bettering the Environment

LCSD, NV Energy and Envirolution shared the following with local media on Wednesday, October 7th - National Energy Efficiency Day! 

Student-driven project will save school tens of thousands of dollars on energy costs and reduce pollution

8th graders on Dayton Intermediate School’s robotics team initiate lighting retrofit that’s a shining example to public and private sectors

Where will Nevada and our nation find leaders who can help address the growing problems of economic pressure and climate change? The robotics team at ​Dayton Intermediate School​ in rural Lyon County, Nevada, is one place that should be tapped first. Eighth graders Zoee Wass and Evan Moyer led their robotics team in the conceptualization and implementation of a project that will save their school thousands of dollars a year while also reducing greenhouse gasses.

“These young people were amazing to work with; they’re truly impressive,” said Vanessa Robertson, Co-Executive Director of ​Envirolution​, a Reno-based non-profit organization working to help Nevada’s schools be more sustainable.

Through Envirolution’s project-based program, Project ReCharge, Zoee, Evan, and other students at Dayton Intermediate School discovered that by replacing the school’s 25 watt fluorescent tubes with 15 watt LED tubes, the school could save close to $9,000 a year in energy savings while offsetting over 128,000 lbs of CO2.

“The students went through the computations themselves and they know the numbers, including energy savings, payback, and other benefits,” said Dusti Houk, the 8th grade STEM teacher at Dayton Intermediate who advises the robotics team. “This is fantastic experiential learning in a number of areas with the addition of a bit of project management experience too.”

“This real world learning provides valuable workforce development as students learn how to solve energy and sustainability problems in their home, school and community,” said Houk.

“It was really cool to see how much of a difference something as small as changing out lightbulbs can have,” added eighth grader Zoee Waas.

“We’re so proud of our students,” said Kevin Kranjcec, principal at Dayton Intermediate. “They’ve done a tremendous job with a positive impact on their education through this process as well as their saving Dayton Intermediate and Lyon County School District approximately $9,000 over the course of a year.”

The project also showcases that energy efficiency is an extremely cost-effective way to reduce greenhouse gasses and other emissions, explained Robertson. “The investment in LED lighting will pay for itself in about a year through savings on utility bills.”

Dayton Intermediate didn’t need to invest the money for the retrofit, thanks to Envirolution working with NV Energy and the utility’s “Smart Schools” program. Funding for energy-saving LEDs came from a $4,440 NV Energy Smart Schools Rebate along with a grant provided by Tesla and its K-12 Nevada Education Gift fund.

“Schools that are working with Envirolution have agreed to provide the rebates from NV Energy to help finance projects in other schools,” said Robertson. “A previous student lighting retrofit at Pyramid Lake Jr/Sr. School was the source of the rebate funds used at Dayton Intermediate.”

“Once the lighting project at Dayton is completed, the rebate will be used to fund the next student project,” Robertson explained.

To date, 13 student projects working with Envirolution’s Project ReCharge have been implemented and have saved Nevada schools $640,000 in energy costs by reducing energy use equivalent to the annual usage of over 700 average American homes.

“Project ReCharge’s interactive lessons prepare students for Nevada’s growing sustainable economy as they learn about energy generation, consumption and efficiency,” added Robertson.

There are a lot of challenges the world is facing including economic and environmental pressures. The students at Dayton Intermediate are bright lights in these sometimes dark times, helping to light the way to a better future.

You may also remember this incredible project from our story in June 2020 - Dayton Area STEM and Energy Savings Accomplishments!

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