CUNY, IBM To Help New York Schools Reduce Energy Consumption

IBM and City University of New York have teamed up to develop a new analytics tool that's designed to help New York's public schools save on energy costs. The conservation program will also be used to give a boost to STEM education in the city's K-12 schools.

Dubbed the Energy Analytics for Buildings project, the effort involves technology that will apply collected data--including weather, energy use, and building characteristics--to create forecasts and simulations to help optimize energy use in the future. According to information released by IBM, the program entered its initial stages about 10 months ago. During that time various data have been collected and analyzed, and models are being built for New York's school facilities.

But the lessons learned in the program will be applicable beyond New York's schools as well. "In many cases it's unreasonable for cities to build brand new energy efficient buildings from scratch. Rather, it's important that we help governments, university campuses and corporations alike understand how they can use technology to make existing buildings as energy efficient and cost-effective as possible," said Jane Snowdon of IBM Research, in a statement issued by IBM last week. "Adding advanced analytics and real-time communications to control systems and getting data into the hands of property managers and facility staff has the potential to drive powerful improvements for decades to come."

As part of the program, IBM is collaborating with the New York City Department of Education to use the project to support science education.

"One of our goals at the Department of Education is to reduce energy use in our buildings and learn from it," said NYCDOE Division of School Facilities CEO John T. Shea. "The IBM/CUNY energy analytics tool would help us better manage our buildings and would help our teachers incorporate the information from the energy use in the building to supplement the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) curriculum."

About the Author

David Nagel is the former editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal, STEAM Universe, and Spaces4Learning. A 30-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art, marketing, media, and business publications.

He can be reached at [email protected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrnagel/ .


Featured

  • digital illustration of Estonia with glowing neural network-like connections spreading across the map

    Estonia to Roll Out ChatGPT Edu for all Secondary Schools

    In a nationwide artificial intelligence program dubbed "AI Leap 2025," the country of Estonia plans to provide free access to leading AI applications for all secondary school students and teachers. The initiative will launch with a rollout of ChatGPT Edu to 20,000 high school students in grades 10-11 and their 3,000 teachers, beginning Sept. 1.

  • A child surrounded by glowing, fluid virtual patterns and holographic shapes, illuminated in a dark gradient environment of blue, purple, and pink.

    ClassVR Gets Expanded VR/AR Content Library

    Avantis Education has announced a new content library for its ClassVR virtual and augmented reality platform. Dubbed Eduverse+, the library features four content suites — EduverseAI, WildWorld, STEAM3D, and CareerHub — that can be tailored to suit a variety of educational levels.

  • elementary school teacher with students

    Traditional Procurement Processes Stand in the Way of Progress

    K–12 schools and districts can streamline procurement and gain agility without having the rewrite purchasing requirements.

  • school building split in half, with one side collapsing into a dark hole

    Office of Educational Technology, National Center for Education Statistics Fall Victim to ED Cuts

    The U.S. Department of Education has announced cuts of nearly half of its staff, numbering more than 1,300 workers, according to AP reporting. While official details on the cuts are not available, early commentary on LinkedIn has revealed drastic cuts in the areas of educational technology and data.