Special Report: Heat in Schools

Boston is the oldest school district in the nation, and it has some old buildings! On cold days that could mean heat that should be staying in is leaking out.

7NEWS picked four Boston schools and put them to the test! With an expert and an infrared camera, we use thermal imaging technology to reveal what can't be seen with the naked eye.

Jim Swansey, S3 Thermal Imaging
"If you see a lot of light colors -- whites and yellows and reds -- that's indicative of a warmer area."

And we see those colors at these two schools in Jamaica Plain, and at another school in Boston, which means heated air is streaming out the windows.

Jim Swansey, S3 Thermal Imaging
"Here, we definitely see some window issues."

This school in Roxbury is also losing a lot of its heat.

Jim Swansey, S3 Thermal Imaging
"All these windows are leaking pretty good."

Lost heat is of course, wasted energy, that's wasted money at a time when schools simply can't afford it.

The Boston School District spends, on average, about $800,000 a month on heat. Our expert says by making small upgrades like caulking and sealing windows, Boston schools could save about 25 percent on their heating bill. That's a potential savings of $200,000!

Jim Swansey, S3 Thermal Imaging
"It does all add up. You think you make just a couple of minor changes, and it's not going to have an effect, but it does have an effect. "

The heat leaks are no surprise to the chief operating officer for Boston Public Schools.

Michael Goar, Boston Public Schools
"We have very old buildings and some windows clearly need to be replaced, because if you see them they are wooden, window sills and windows as such. It doesn't give us the level of insulation that we are obviously expecting."

In this time of extremely tight budgets, he says the schools are paying to fix some windows, but they just can’t afford to fix them all.

Michael Goar, Boston Public Schools
"It is a very difficult situation when you have finite resources and a lot of buildings that are quite aged."

That's not all we found. We're giving a failing grade to Charlestown High, which recently installed new windows. On this winter night, some windows were left wide open!

Michael Goar, Boston Public Schools
"Clearly, we need to do a better job communicating with school administrators and as well as custodians in those buildings to ensure the windows are closed."

Our thermal imaging expert says it's impossible to completely seal a building from losing heat, but any effort is helpful. Since 2006, the Boston School District has worked to replace windows in nine schools.

More on S3 Thermal Imaging: http://www.s3imaging.com/

(Copyright (c) 2010 Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)