New York City Department of Education
At a Glance
Industry
School or School District
Project Type
Commercial Energy Efficiency
Year
2016
Location
Long Island City, NY
Summary
Ajay Ranjith Vempati helped develop a framework for a robust energy management system for the NYC Department of Education and established standardized processes for improving energy performance.
Goals:
New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) runs the largest school district in United States serving over 1.1 million students. The Department owns and operates over 1350 buildings with more the 130 Million square feet of built-up space (40% of the City's total municipal building square footage). The department is also the largest energy consuming public agency in New York City accounting for nearly 22% of the city government’s energy consumption along with associated greenhouse gas emissions. The Department has taken many initiatives to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through equipment optimization, upgrades, and retrofits. The Division of School Facilities (DSF) aimed to develop a strategic energy management plan to meet the City’s greenhouse gas emission targets and implement ISO 50001 Energy Management System to drive a systemic approach to these initiatives. Fellow Ajay Ranjith Vempati was hired by NYCDOE to develop this strategic plan as well as analyze the feasibility of implementing the ISO 50001 Energy Management System, suggest improvements in existing strategies, and to help meet OneNYC sustainability goals.
Solutions:
Ajay analyzed the existing systems implemented by DSF and the energy/greenhouse gas savings from a 2006 baseline by the Sustainability and Optimization/Maintenance departments. Based on the analysis and field visits to sample schools, Ajay has designed and recommended the implementation of a system wide energy policy. He also recommended information technology-enabled solutions in existing data management systems to streamline energy conservation activities across the agency. He designed the template for energy audits to effectively capture critical information in line with Local Law 87 compliance. He developed a tool to analyze emission trends within the department, and recommended an increased focus on energy consumption from heating to substantially reduce utility costs and emissions.
Potential Impact:
Ajay’s recommendations for implementing ISO 50001 system and related initiatives will help drive NYCDOE to a systemic and focused approach to energy conservation initiatives. This will also increase the engagement of all stakeholders and coordination between various departments within the organization in energy conservation. The low cost/high impact solutions have utility cost savings potential along with associated absolute GHG reductions of 3 – 6 %.