WorkSmart

The University of Oregon is dedicated to bringing energy efficiency and sustainability to our local community.   It is in this respect that the WorskSmart Team was developed within the University's Environmental Leadership Program.   With the help of Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB), we have set a goal to aid local schools in cutting-back on their energy consumption, and ultimately help the schools save money.  

In the past ten years Oregon has seen the greatest discrimination in school funding across the nation.   Our goal is to monitor three schools within Eugene's 4J and Shasta School Districts, give recommendations for ways to conserve energy, and hopefully decrease the economic pressure on the school systems.   The greatest incentive to the schools is to save money on their energy bill. But above and beyond that we want to help bring the city of Eugene into the modern era of energy conservation.

Monitoring Goals

We will be monitoring three schools this term.   The goals of the monitoring are:

1. Determine that lighting usage is consistent with building occupancy

2. Determine that heating of classrooms is consistent with building occupancy

3. Determine that the heating level is appropriately comfortable

4. Determine that the relative humidity levels are appropriately comfortable

5. Solicit feedback/suggestions from building occupants regarding their perceptions of thermal comfort and lighting adequacy

After conducting the monitoring, we will address the visible problems, and give our suggestions in a final report given to each school.

  Our mission is to help schools and businesses recognize where they stand in relation to others with energy usage and efficiency. We hope to encourage urban sustainability by giving schools and businesses in the community the power to make a difference in their energy consumption.