Information for Policymakers and Working Groups

In a typical school building, energy costs comprise five percent of the operating budget. With energy costs projected to increase dramatically over the next few years, now is the time to consider High Performance Design for schools. Today:

• Maine schools must be designed to reduce energy use by 20 percent beyond code.
• New Hampshire schools qualify for a three percent reimbursement by designing to high performance standards.
• New Haven, Conn. schools are employing high performance design principles to reduce energy use and are capturing the savings to pay for new schools.
• Twenty Massachusetts schools are part of a pilot program using high performance design to reduce energy use by an average of 30 percent, and all new schools in Boston must be designed to reduce energy usage.
• New Jersey schools must be designed to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), the rating system of the U.S. Green Building Council.
• There are 154 schools in use or under construction in the Northeast that use high performance design.
  

This Web site contains many resources to help you learn the basics about high performance school building design and how it can be applied in your region.

Learn more about High Performance Schools

Design guidelines and rating systems
Informative articles, reports and Web sites

Regional High Performance Schools Activities

School case studies for the Northeast
State policies and regulations for school construction
School construction reimbursement funding
Exchange Briefings
NEEP energy efficiency policy information clearinghouse

Connect to Regional High Performance Schools Advocates

State working group contacts
Utility companies