Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, September 2, 1994                   TAG: 9409020066
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

STUDENTS FIND ROOMS WITH LESS OF A VIEW

When they returned to school this week, some Roanoke County children found that some windows in their classrooms had disappeared.

Well, not really.

They may as well have been replaced because they no longer are a source of light.

In a major program to reduce heating and air-conditioning costs, the county has covered several windows in about a dozen schools with insulation and a stucco-like material.

More than half the windows on some walls have been covered.

Homer Duff, director of facilities and operations for county schools, said every classroom will be left with at least one operable window.

Some children have been taken aback at the number of windows that have been covered, but Duff said they will adjust to it quickly.

The school system expects to save enough in energy costs in six or seven years to pay for the covering.

Duff said the insulation is similar to that used in houses and other buildings.

It's just regular insulation attached to the inside of the window and covered with a plaster-like material on both the inside and outside. The outside covering is designed to preserve the aesthetic quality of the buildings.

The county school system has a program with energy-management experts to reduce energy costs for 25 schools. This is the second phase of the program, which is expected to save hundreds of thousand dollars in energy costs.