Energy Efficiency is Another Great Dance for the Staff and Students at Ballet Tech
Con Edison Provides Incentives for Renowned School to Upgrade Lighting and Lighting Controls, Save on Energy Bills
The staff at Ballet Tech strives to teach students the importance of social awareness and good character, as well as the art and joys of classical dance.
That’s why the school invested $110,000 in energy efficiency upgrades and got $30,000 in incentives from Con Edison’s Small Business Program. Con Edison estimates the school will recover its investment in less than three years.
The school’s leaders believe the energy efficiency upgrades to their building, a former belt and shirt factory in Manhattan’s Flatiron area, are about doing what’s best for the world around them.
“We understand the responsibility we have being part of the city, not only teaching the students dance and academics but also about contributing to the world around them,” said Jason Walters, the building manager. “Part of that is being responsible with energy and protecting the environment.”
“We see the energy efficiency upgrades we have made as saving us a little money and helping us comply with some of the city’s laws,” said Maggie Christ, the executive director. “But climate change is real and reducing our energy usage is important. It sets a good example for young people.”
It pleases the staff at the school to know the projects Ballet Tech completed with Con Edison reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of more than 40 tons. That’s the amount of emissions produced by driving a gasoline-powered vehicle more than 100,000 miles.
The school, which teaches students in grades four through eight, used Con Edison incentives to switch 200 bulbs in the building on Broadway to LEDs. The school also installed motion sensors to turn lights on when someone enters a room and off when the room is empty.
Ballet Tech has taken a comprehensive approach to saving energy. The school also installed new HVAC units and has a green roof atop its eighth floor.
A green roof does not absorb light and heat like a black roof, which radiates the heat back into the atmosphere at night. That creates what is known as urban heat island affect, meaning higher night-time temperatures in cities than in the suburbs.
The green roof reduces the need for air conditioning during the summer, saving energy and reducing emissions.
Ballet Tech, also known as the NYC Public School for Dance, is a collaboration between the NYC Department of Education and Ballet Tech Foundation. The city provides academic instruction and the foundation teaches dance.
The posters on the walls of the lobby tell the story of Ballet Tech students’ public performances since the foundation’s start five decades ago. Some of the school’s 27,000 former students have become professional dancers.
The lobby is not far from a studio where students practiced under the artistic direction of Dionne Figgins, who has performed with Dance Theatre of Harlem and appeared on Broadway in the musical A Wonderful World.
Figgins’s students were rehearsing a step called Monster Walk, preparing to perform Mystère as part of Ballet Tech’s annual Kids Dance season at The Joyce Theater in Chelsea. Students took turns doing the Monster Walk to Figgins’s rhythmic counting and finger snapping.
The studio and lobby are separated by a hallway with vertical LEDs on the walls. Walters said students have discovered it’s cool to run through the hallway and see the lights on each side light up in a cascade as the student passes by, triggering the motion detector.
The new bulbs illuminate offices, hallways, conference rooms, classrooms and five expansive studios. It has all meant a building that is more energy efficient, environmentally sustainable and comfortable, staff members and students said.
Con Edison’s energy efficiency programs are among the most robust energy efficiency incentives in the nation. The company last year paid 338,000 customers a total of $161 million to make upgrades that lower their energy usage. The upgrades save customers money on their bills and reduce emissions.
Con Edison is a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc. [NYSE: ED], one of the nation's largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $15 billion in annual revenues and $71 billion in assets. The utility provides electric, gas and steam service to more than three million customers in New York City and Westchester County, New York.