Livingston School District
Following a lighting audit and recommendations made by the Montana Resource Efficiency Program (MREP), the Livingston (Montana) School District is poised to save over $36,000 in lighting costs each year.
The School District is comprised of five schools which collectively serve a student body of some 1,400 students from late August until late May each year. In addition, the district maintains a bus barn.
Based on recommendations from MREP, the school district is currently converting its lighting to LED. The lighting throughout the District was primarily fluorescent T8 fixtures with the exception of the high school, which was retrofitted with 28-watt T5 fluorescents in 2011 when it was remodeled. Lighting accounted for nearly 25% of the districts electric consumption. Total electric usage for the district is shown in the table below.
| Utility | Annual Use (kWh) | Total Annual Cost ($) |
| Total Electric Usage | 1,465,124 | $190,176 |
| Park High School | 757,620 | $82,569 |
| Eastside and Sleeping Giant | 476,640 | $52,507 |
| Winans Elementary | 61,888 | $7,262 |
| Washington Elem. | 40,852 | $5,635 |
The estimated cost to upgrade lighting in the schools was $30,750 after utility rebates were applied. Annual energy cost savings is estimated at $36,692, for a simple payback of just over 10 months. This payback can be shortened further by rising utility rates and increased longevity of the LED bulbs.
Considering the cost of the short payback, this project was a sound investment for the District. Costs, savings, rebates, and payback are detailed below.
| Livingston Schools | Annual Bill Savings | Est. Project Cost | Est. Rebates | Net Project Cost | KWh Savings | Simple Payback |
| LED
Conversion |
$36,692 |
$74,862 |
$44,112 |
$30,750 |
319,627 |
0.84 years |