Schools get environmentally friendly with "green" designs

Geothermal heating and cooling systems are gaining popularity in eastern Iowa schools, saving on energy costs and keeping students from shivering during chilly winters and sweltering on the sunniest days.

The environmentally friendly technology, which provides a consistent temperature in buildings, costs more to install, but saves on energy in the long run.

"It's saving us money, especially since gas prices have gone so high," said Dave Dvorak, building and grounds manager for the Cedar Rapids school district, where more than a handful of schools are employing the technology.

He said the district is able to pay off the difference between a conventional system and the geothermal system in seven years.

"After that, we're just saving money," he said.

Geothermal systems use the ground's stable temperature to heat and cool water that passes through fluid-filled pipes buried deep into the ground.

The savings tied to the systems have persuaded other eastern Iowa school boards to add geothermal units in both new and old school buildings. Among those are schools Iowa City, Oelwein, Manchester, Linn-Mar and Monticello.

Other "green" improvements are being made elsewhere in Iowa.

The school designs in Iowa City are maximizing sunlight to cut costs on lighting.

"The learning environment is improved with the infusion of natural light," said Iowa City Superintendent Lane Plugge. "We saved money there with (fewer) fixtures."

His district also is building entryway flooring made from recycled tires.

In addition, the district is experimenting with a type of parking lot concrete at North Central Junior High, opening this fall, that allows water to pass through the pavement rather than run off, and they are planting grasses with long roots to catch more water.

"We want to be a good neighbor to the creek," Plugge said.

Some schools are experimenting with wind energy as well.

Nine K-12 schools and one community college in Iowa are using wind energy to run turbines, said Teresa Galluzzo, of Mount Vernon-based The Iowa Policy Project, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization.

Solar energy can be a plus for schools trying to take a green approach.

Muscatine High School has been the leader in using the technology, said Keith Kutz of the Iowa Energy Center in Ames.

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Information from: The Gazette, http://www.gazetteonline.com/