Lafayette’s average annual cost for energy has dropped from $470,000 down to $417,000 in three years. Mrs. Reigner is a science teacher who is passionate about conserving energy for the school.  With a few Chemistry classes, about 45 students, and energy monitoring, Mrs. Regnier has turned her passion into savings for the school. 

Mrs. Regnier’s students perform something called a “Power Patrol” around all work areas and classrooms at the end of the semester. They check to see if the classroom is storing energy wisely. Storing energy can be as simple as turning the lights off when you leave the room. Leaving the lights on during lunch is the #1 most common way of wasting energy throughout schools. The hallways are not climate-controlled either, so it is also important to close the doors when you don’t need them to be opened. Leaving the doors opened is also a very common way of wasting energy.

At the end of the Power Patrol, each room either gets a post-it that says “Thanks!” or one that says “Oops!”. If you get one that says “Oops!” then the students circle what is not so energy-efficient around the classroom that the teacher should be aware of.

Power Patrols have been working in order to reduce energy. Lafayette High School has had the biggest reduction of energy in the last four years  out of all the high schools. By reducing energy, Lafayette gets a small amount of cash. The money earned has been used to purchase power strips and water bottle filling stations.

The electric bill will continue to increase as Fayette County’s number of students increase, but it is important that we are aware of becoming energy efficient and do as much as we can to preserve energy.