Education facilities managers are faced with a daunting set of challenges: They must find new ways to reduce energy consumption and carry out greener energy policies. HVAC typically accounts for more than 30% of a building's electricity costs, so there is a clear incentive to eliminate unnecessary heating and cooling of unoccupied rooms. With more efficient systems integration aiding the drive for green energy, school facilities managers can benefit from new energy-management strategies. With a networked energy-management solution, facilities managers can check the status of all the different rooms in a building and provide a degree of control. The benefits are comprehensive--from centralized control to the ability to communicate data between rooms, floors, classrooms and residence halls. Disadvantages, however, need to be taken into account. The costs of establishing networked energy-management systems can vary widely. Interoperability issues with existing equipment may arise because vendors have not adopted a common standard. The key is to identify a solution that is based on a mainstream standard. Factors that education institutions must consider when selecting an appropriate energy-management solution are discussed.