Another green initiative in place at Dalton is the installation of six solar panels on Dalton’s roof, funded by the 2006 Senior Class Gift. Dalton is the only Manhattan independent school with solar panels. Our system uses 12 GE 200 Watt solar panels, a DC-AC inverter, and a data logger. Currently, the system produces 2.4 kilowatts/day, which adds up to 900 kilowatts/year and provides .047% of Dalton’s energy/year. Although our solar panels generate limited energy, they increase awareness and offer the possibility of being incorporated into the science curriculum. Eventually, students will be able to view the solar output on the school’s website and lobby TV screen. A weather station is also installed on the roof allowing students to monitor temperature, wind speed and direction.

Dalton’s cafeteria is also taking significant steps toward “green” certification by:
-- Replacing all chemical cleaners with products derived from plants (grapefruit, orange, soy)
-- Putting limiters on water faucets to reduce wasted water
-- Verifying recycling process with the Department of Sanitation
-- Using a food disposal unit to convert our bio garbage into slurry that is processed by NYC waste treatment, thereby reducing garbage pick up for landfill by as much as 80%
-- Installing air curtains on large walk-in refrigerators to minimize warming when the doors are opened
-- Powering down equipment and lighting when not in use
-- Using only biodegradable paper and "plastic" products for catering and eliminating styrofoam
-- Serving seafood from sustainable natural sources and avoiding fish farms which pollute local waters
-- Buying only grass-fed and antibiotic-free beef and chicken for consumption at Dalton: Grain fed cattle are part of the corn-petrochemical cycle that supports corn subsidies, petro fertilizers and insecticides
-- Using local produce as much as possible to reduce carbon footprint
-- Using organic foods as much as financially and reasonably possible to again avoid use of petro-derived fertilizers and insecticides

Throughout the school building, Dalton is taking proactive steps to become more ecologically efficient. Many newly renovated classrooms have motion sensors that turn off lights in unoccupied rooms. The School actively recycles many products including: batteries, florescent lamps, ballasts for florescent lamp fixtures, depreciated computers, bottles, cans, plastic bottles, paper products, printer toner and ink cartridges. Dalton currently purchases 30% recycled paper for printers and copiers, and is about to move to 100% recycled paper. Connections, Dalton's school magazine, is printed on paper stock that is 10% post consumer waste and is forested and converted to pulp and paper in a responsible, sustainable manner. A new cooling tower has been installed which saves energy by using variable frequency drives that minimizes its impact on the environment with a chemical-free water treatment system.

Other near future initiatives include changing over to green-certified cleaning products this spring, initiating an energy benchmarking process and audit, and exploring more environmentally-friendly bus transportation to reduce our carbon footprint substantially.