GREEN FROM THE GROUND UP

ENVIRONMENTAL BEST PRACTICES

When longtime Longmeadow High School Principal, Lawrence Berte, reached retirement eligibility, he opted to stay on board with the school to see the new building construction through to completion.

“We sat with the architect for a year and a half to design the building and the build itself took a year and a half,” Berte says. “The students wanted to have this new building be modern and up-to-date and we wanted a facility that implemented environmental best practices.”

One of those best practices was the installation of high-speed, energy-efficient XLERATOR® Hand Dryers.

The XLERATOR is the only hand dryer in the industry with a dry time of 8 seconds* — tested to guidelines from the Global Hand Dryer PCR published by UL Environment — and it uses 80 percent less energy than conventional hand dryers. It represents a 95-percent cost savings when compared to paper towels, eliminating their labor, maintenance and waste. 

A peer reviewed (ISO 14040 standards) Life Cycle Assessment of XLERATOR confirmed it reduces the carbon footprint of hand drying by 50-75 percent compared to both traditional hand dryers and even 100-percent recycled paper towels. It is the first hand dryer to be BuildingGreen Approved® and helps facilities qualify for several LEED® v4 Credits and Green Globes to satisfy corporate and government sustainability goals.

SUBTRACTING WASTE AND MAINTENANCE COSTS

The cost savings was an important factor in choosing the XLERATOR for Longmeadow High School. With 1,000 students, 100 teaching faculty and a support staff of about 25, the XLERATOR has allowed the school to realize a substantial reduction in paper towel costs and eliminated a majority of restroom maintenance needs.

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“With a building that has 1,200 people coming in, you not only have the use of paper towels, you also have disposal and maintenance costs. The XLERATOR was an easy option for us. And our facility managers are thankful they’re not cleaning up a paper towel mess every night,” Berte says.

Paper towels are still used in other buildings in the school district, but Berte points out that they don’t last long. “When you pull the papers out, sometimes 10 come out instead of one; they fall on the floor or someone might think it would be a pretty good joke to clog up the sink and let it overflow or throw them in the toilet,” he says. “A high school is a high school. We have those things eliminated going the dryer route.”

Longmeadow High School opted to install XLERATOR Hand Dryers not only in the restrooms, but also in other areas that waste a lot of paper, including locker rooms and science rooms. “Anytime we could reduce paper with an XLERATOR, we did so,” Berte says.

The whole building process was used as an educational tool to teach the students about the importance of sustainability.

“We had a lot of discussion about how we were going to make this an environmentally friendly school,” says Berte. “Those green initiatives and environmentally sound practices have been incorporated into our curriculum work as well. For example, we have a course called Community Service Learning and students took on an entire recycling project for the school.”

“When you pull the papers out, sometimes 10 come out instead of one; they fall on the floor or someone might think it would be a pretty good joke to clog up the sink and let it overflow or throw them in the toilet. A high school is a high school. We have those things eliminated going the dryer route.”
LAWRENCE BERTE

SETTING THE CURVE

The XLERATOR Hand Dryer’s modular design and low failure rate make it one of the most reliable and easy to service hand dryers on the market. The school itself has received positive response from the community. “The faculty loves the flow of the school and the way things work and the students are thrilled with it. We came from a very old building that lacked space, technology and light. All of those things come with this new building, so we’re really pleased,” Berte says. “Plus, the kids have a different attitude here. When they see the dryers or any other new products in this school, they tend to take care of it.”

For Longmeadow High School, the decision to purchase and install the XLERATOR Hand Dryers was ultimately made by a building committee. “It came down to using this dryer because we knew it was an effective, American-made product many of us had seen in operation in other facilities,” Berte says. “I feel great about this building. It’s about the kids – we always start with that – but it’s certainly nice to have a committee that supports our efforts and green initiatives.”

Longmeadow High School is a perfect example of putting green education into action. They’ve not only reaped the practical benefits of the XLERATOR, they’ve also demonstrated to their students and the community how to lead the way into a sustainable future by using green technology. And the response they’ve heard (and not heard) is all positive.

WHERE WE LEARN MATTERS

Excel Dryer has partnered with Green Apple, an initiative from the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), to create custom-covered Green Apple XLERATOR Hand Dryers that are available for any facility to purchase. A portion of all proceeds go back to support the Green Apple program. The Green Apple program works with conscientious companies and organizations to transform our schools into healthy, sustainable learning places. The Green Apple XLERATOR Hand Dryer can be customized to include school logos, colors, mascots or a custom sustainability message.

Excel Dryer’s expanded product line — featuring XLERATOR, XLERATOReco® and ThinAir® Hand Dryers — now comes with enhanced features including sound, speed and heat control, multi-voltage options (110-120V or 208-277V) and an externally visible service LED to streamline maintenance. With the most options and accessories in the industry, you can create the best hand drying solution for any restroom environment.

As educational facilities look for green and cost-saving initiatives, the installation of XLERATOR Hand Dryer models accomplishes both. Follow Longmeadow High School’s lead and make the change from paper towels today!

*Dry time and energy use testing performed by SGS International on standard XLERATOR Hand Dryer with 0.8” nozzle to 0.25g or less of residual moisture, pursuant to the UL Environment Global Product Category Rules (PCR) for Hand Dryers.