Howard Suamico School District

Wisconsin Public Service and Focus on Energy, Wisconsin's statewide program for energy efficiency and renewable energy, presented Howard Suamico School District a check for $171,748 after installing a new boiler at Lineville Elementary, air handler upgrades and new water heaters at Bayview Middle School, and energy efficient lighting upgrades at various schools throughout 2013.

By completing these projects, the School District is expecting to save more than 580,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity and 34,000 therms of natural gas annually—enough energy to power 93 Wisconsin homes for a year. The School District will also benefit from an $84,000 savings on its energy bills each year.

The energy saving projects, through Wisconsin Public Service, earned an incentive award of nearly $105,000 through a limited time incentive program available to Local Governments and School Districts. They also received nearly $67,000 from Focus on Energy for these projects.

“Completing projects like these would not be possible without the support we’ve received from District Administration.” said Jim DeBaker, Assistant Facility Manager at Howard Suamico School District. DeBaker adds, “Having the financial resources and in-house staff to complete the work is essential in completing so many projects.”

Not only do these upgrades save energy and money, but they’re also environmentally friendly. The annual environmental benefits are equivalent to offsetting 1,726 barrels of oil from being burned – eliminating more than 1,381,200 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from being released into the atmosphere.

“From my experience in working with Howard Suamico School District over the past five years, Jim DeBaker and his staff have been very aggressive in pursuing the quickest payback opportunities and putting together a comprehensive energy management program that benefits the School District with savings of over $100,000 annually,” said Jeff Henkelman, Account Representative at Wisconsin Public Service.