MIDDLETOWN -- Hoping to maximize energy savings in Island classrooms, the Aquidneck Island Planning Commission recently completed installing "smart meters" in Gaudet Middle, Aquidneck Elementary and Forest Hills Elementary schools in Middletown.
According to the AIPC, the meters are designed to track energy use in real time and will be connected to a digital display called an "energy dashboard" that will allow students, faculty, staff and parents to see how much energy each school is consuming.
"Currently, the smart meters are recording data to determine the schools' baseline energy usage so that the schools will be able to gauge accurately future changes in energy consumption," the AIPC said in an e-mail on Friday.
Going forward, the group plans on working with the manufacturer, TellEmotion, Inc., and the Middletown Public Schools to train teachers and students on the system, and to develop energy activities to integrate the energy dashboards into mathematics, science, and related subjects.
