Think your gas bill was high last month?

Feel squeamish when the electricity bill arrives in the mail in July?

Well, that’s nothing.

Consider this: Last year, Lincoln Public Schools’ annual gas bill was $1.7 million. It paid $4.2 million for electricity. That averages out to more than $490,000 a month.

Ouch.

That’s particularly painful for Lincoln taxpayers, whose hard-earned dollars are ultimately paying the bills.

And that’s one of the reasons LPS officials are digging that big hole on the south side of Lincoln High School.

When it’s done, the hole will be a well, part of what’s known as a geothermal ground-coupled heat pump.

The system — now being used in 22 district schools — is one of biggest leaps into the green movement for LPS.

There have been others: renovating buildings with more energy-efficient windows and roofs; using more efficient lighting systems and fixtures; using natural light and “sleep mode” for computers; and lowering school thermostats.

They encourage custodians to shut off lights and lower building thermostats when the school day ends.

And now, LPS officials have pulled together a group of district and local utility officials to come up with ways to encourage students and teachers to reduce their energy use.

“I’m very proud of our school district because they’ve taken on a difficult challenge and that is to reduce their energy consumption,” said Todd Hall, LES vice president for consumer services.

And it looks like it’s working.

Per person consumption of electricity in Lincoln increased about 1.6 percent a year over the last four years, Hall said. Per student consumption at LPS during the same time increased less than 1 percent annually.

And that’s at a time when the district was converting to heating and cooling systems that use less gas and more electricity.

Overall, those geothermal systems are one of the big savers, LPS officials said.

The systems are considered green because they use a sustainable form of energy and reduce costs.

They work like this: water circulates through pipes in the well, allowing the earth’s constant temperature to either heat or cool the water, which then is used to heat or cool the air blown into the building.

In traditional systems, electric- or gas-powered units heat and cool the water or air.

“These are a good fit for many schools for a number of reasons,” said Rachel Gutter, schools sector manager for the U.S. Green Building Council. “Once they’re installed, they’re essentially harvesting free energy from the ground. What a good idea, right?”

LPS officials think so.

Their first foray into the geothermal heat pump systems was in the mid-1990s when they built Campbell, Roper, Maxey and Cavett elementaries with the new systems. Unsure how well the new systems would work, they built Lux and Scott middle schools using traditional systems.

More than a decade later, LPS officials are convinced the technology is sound.

The two newest high schools, North Star and Southwest, use the systems, and once the new schools and renovations being paid for with a $250 million bond issue are finished, 36 schools, including all the high schools, will use heat pump systems.

When the district’s 10-year facility plan is completed, nearly all schools will have the systems, assuming they still prove to be the most economical, said Dennis Van Horn, LPS associate superintendent for business affairs.

LPS officials believe that, although geothermal heat pump systems cost more up front, those costs are more than made up over the life of the system.

Case in point: The Clark Enersen Partners, which is designing Lincoln High’s renovation, looked at 34 options for heating and cooling and settled on a hybrid system that includes the geothermal heat pump.

The system also includes sensors that gauge how many people are in a room and adjust the temperature accordingly. The sensors also automatically shut off lights, said T.J. Schirmer, the group’s Lincoln High project director.

The study showed the hybrid heat pump system would cost $45,000 more than a traditional system initially but would save $4.5 million in energy and maintenance costs over its 30-year life.

Van Horn said deciding what green technology to embrace is a balance.

“It has to make sense,” he said. “First, is it a good thing to do (for the environment) but (also) does it save taxpayers money?”

Square-footage energy costs with geothermal systems range from 65 cents to 70 cents. More traditional systems range from 85 cents to $1.15, according to research compiled by a local engineering firm.

An LPS analysis of square-footage utility costs of several schools shows costs have gone down with those systems, despite the fact that many added air-conditioning with the new systems. For instance:

* Brownell Elementary: from 59 cents with no air conditioning to 56 cents with airconditioning.

* Eastridge Elementary: from 80 cents to 66 cents.

* Randolph Elementary: from 87 cents to 62 cents.

LPS isn’t alone in its efforts to go green.

The U.S. Green Building Council has a rating system that it uses as a basis to certify schools as green.

Nationwide, 85 schools are certified and another 659 are registered and in the process, she said. And Gutter thinks the number of schools that employ green concepts is much greater.

“I think there’s a movement in place and the registered and certified (schools) don’t do it justice,” she said.

LPS, for instance, follows the council’s checklist in six categories, using as many as possible, but hasn’t applied for certification because of the cost.

“We’re not going to spend the extra money just so we can say it’s (council) certified,” said Scott Wieskamp, LPS director of facilities and maintenance. “We’re going to do something that makes sense (for the district).”

If every school in the nation went green over the next decade, the energy savings would total $20 billion, Gutter said.

But green technology has to be cost effective, and it’s up to LPS officials to check it out, Wieskamp said. Like kicking the tires of that used car you’re considering.

“One thing’s for sure,” he said. “It’s a never-ending process.”

Reach Margaret Reist at 473-7226 or mreist@journalstar.com.