Sustainable School Design
VBE is working toward making all of our schools more energy efficient while providing a better working environment for students and staff.
New and renovated schools incorporate many sustainability features such as energy efficient lighting and mechanical systems, environmentally friendly building materials, water and energy conservation mechanisms, and the use of sunlight and natural ventilation throughout the school building.
National Clearinghouse Article for Educational Facilities on Green Schools as High Performance Learning Facilities
Facility Based Sustainability Initiatives:
- Charles Dickens Elementary School – LEED Silver Project
- Redesigned Lighting Systems and Power Management Software on School Computers
- A solar-photo voltaic demonstration project
- Solar hot-water systems have been installed in five secondary schools (Byng, Windermere, Vancouver Technical, Thompson, and Tupper)
- Thermal Imaging Pilot Project has been conducted to assess building envelop energy efficiency (Champlain Heights, Dickens, Dickens Annex, Fleming, Kingsford-Smith, Nelson, Osler, Tecumseh, Hamber and Magee)
- 75 Operations staff attended a energy conservation training program (summer 2010)
- Energy savings from pilot refrigerator recycling results in cash to Sustainability Program
