Houston County School Saves Money on Electric Bill with Technology

WARNER ROBINS, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – One Houston County school is saving money on their electric bill with new state of the art equipment.

With a push of a button, Scott Hill says he can adjust lights in every classroom in the school.

Hill is the Director of Facilities for Houston County Board of Education. He says C.B. Watson Primary, the newest school in town, is saving money on energy expenses.

“You have less exterior walls, so you don’t have to deal with the outside elements as much. It’s easier to condition the space and so you’re going to save money,” Hill said. 

Hill estimates the school only uses between $300-$400 on electricity, and he thinks the L-E-D lights all over the school have something to do with it.

“60% of your electric bill is lights. With LED lights, we’re saving about half of the electricity used per fixture, so realistically we’re saving somewhere from 20 to 30 percent just on the lighting,” Hill said. 

Savings that were deliberate from the very beginning.

Rodney Smith, and his team at Parrish Construction out of Perry, helped design the school that way.

“Houston County took a business approach they stepped back, and they said we don’t mind paying for a product today if it’s going to save us money down the road,” Smith said. 

Other cost cutting measures include a thermostat in each class, where Hill actually believes students see the benefit.

C.B. Watson actually has four mechanical rooms all across the school. Each one of the units goes to a different class room, so when a teacher deals with the thermostat, there’s no noise, which makes a better learning environment for students.

“Everything that we’ve done in this building is to help make education better. With the lighting control, we can dim lighting so they can see the smart board better,” Hill said. 

There’s even a cost saving floor, that’s a third of the price, and is cheaper for custodial staff to clean.

Hill says it’s still too early to get finalized numbers on just how much the county saves, but he thinks future schools that are built in the county, will follow C.B. Primary’s lead.