Northwest Catholic High School, West Hartford, Connecticut
www.northwestcatholic.org/

Contact
Matthew Fitzsimons, President, Northwest Catholic High School, 29 Wampanoag Drive,
West Hartford, CT 06117; 860.236.4221, x160; mfitzsimons@nwcath.org

Northwest Catholic High School retained the services of Trane, Inc. to provide an investment grade audit of the school’s energy use in 2008. This audit provided a dynamic model of energy use characteristics of both the existing facility and all energy conservation measures identified. Historic utility use data was supplemented with sub-metering of major energy consuming systems and monitoring of system operating characteristics. A realistic baseline was developed against which operating savings for proposed measures could be computed. Northwest then commissioned Trane to implement upgrades, based on the audit, in lighting, HVAC system controls, outlet usage, insulation, oil and gas usage efficiencies, and insulation that is expected to provide energy savings of about $78,000 per year. A substantial portion of the expense of the work was offset by rebates from Connecticut Light and Power, the local electrical utility. Subsequently, Northwest Catholic has engaged an architect and site designer to develop a long range facilities Master Plan that will look at water use efficiency, alternative energy, indoor air quality, waste reduction, food sourcing and related community education efforts. It is expected that Northwest Catholic will eventually be recognized with certification by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. Find out more about LEED at www.usgbc.org/leed