Peter Pistorino says there is a name for the way he thinks a school district should launch an energy conservation initiative: an "envelope" approach. The term refers to looking at the outside package of a structure to check for inefficiencies: Examine the observable, external sources of energy loss such as the doors, windows, insulation, and weather stripping. "Do the obvious first," Pistorino explains, "and then get more finite." Pistorino, facilities director for Hudson Public Schools in Hudson, Massachusetts, recommends a comprehensive strategy that leaves no possible energy saver unexplored. Technology has also been instrumental in many of the energy-saving measures undertaken by Mississippi's Aberdeen School District, under the watch of its former technology director, Kevin Knuckles, who left Aberdeen in January to take an equivalent post farther south in the state, at Pearl Public School District. For example, to carry out the basic job of shutting off idle computers, Aberdeen began using Faronics' Deep Freeze software. As a result, the district's computers no longer run 24/7; the system powers down all workstations automatically at 5 p.m. each afternoon. For Ventura Unified School District in Southern California, the effort to trim power consumption began at base camp. The district's administrative headquarters is located in a 120-square-foot, two-story office building that is more than 30 years old, and its heating, venting, and air conditioning equipment was at the end of its lifecycle. As part of a fully upgraded system that was rolled out in December, the district is using Optimum Energy's Ultra High Performance HVAC optimization software, which enables building performance to be tracked and measured remotely, verifying savings on both a real-time and historical basis.