In 1997 schools in the United States were expending {dollar}6 billion annually for their energy needs. The U.S. Department of Energy estimated that at least 25% or {dollar}1.5 billion could be saved annually by utilizing the current energy saving technology found in sustainable renewable energy systems. Renewable energy systems were a part of the construct of sustainability. This concept was both theory and practice. It was recognized and well documented that the construct of sustainable renewable energy systems had been applied in business and industry as a cost effective and efficacious option for reducing energy costs. However, due to the scarcity of documented evidence, the use of sustainable renewable energy systems in educational facilities as measured by cost effectiveness and efficacy of similar systems in educational facilities remained unknown. This study endeavored to test the theory and assess the results by combining the perspectives of both the neoclassical theory and the social/ethical theory of sustainability.; The focus of this comparative case study was to test, discern, and document whether the theory of the construct of sustainability, specifically in the area of renewable energy systems, could be utilized in educational facilities as measured by cost effectiveness and efficacy. This study examined two Texas schools that approached supplying their energy needs in the two different ways: one using traditional methods and one incorporating the use of renewable energy. Data were collected to establish a life-cycle cost model for assessing the cost-benefit of sustainable renewable energy systems in place in educational facilities. Efficacy of the systems was established from the perceptions of the participant users of the facilities by use of an oral survey. It was the purpose of this study to test the theory for appropriate utilization of sustainable renewable energy systems in educational facilities in anticipation of providing the needed documentation to support a policy change in the design and construction of educational facilities.
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