A longitudinal study of the post-occupancy energy performance of K-12 school buildings in Arizona

Energy performance and efficiency plays of major role in the operations of K-12 schools, as it is a significant expense and a source of budgetary pressure upon schools. Energy performance is tied to the physical infrastructure of schools, as well as the operational and behavioral patterns they accommodate. Little documentation exists within the existing literature on the measured post-occupancy performance of schools once they have begun measuring and tracking their energy performance. Further, little is known about the patterns of change over time in regard to energy performance and whether there is differentiation in these patterns between school districts.

This paper examines the annual Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of 28 different K-12 schools within the Phoenix Metropolitan Region of Arizona over the span of five years and presents an analysis of changes in energy performance resulting from the measurement of energy use in K-12 schools. This paper also analyzes the patterns of change in energy use over time and provides a comparison of these patterns by school district.

An analysis of the energy performance data for the selected schools revealed a significant positive impact on the ability for schools to improve their energy performance through ongoing performance measurement. However, while schools tend to be able to make energy improvements through the implementation of energy measurement and performance tracking, deviation may exist in their ability to maintain ongoing energy performance over time. The results suggest that implementation of ongoing measurement is likely to produce positive impacts on the energy performance of schools, however further research is recommended to enhance and refine these results.