Area school systems are saving more than just personnel costs on furlough days.

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"Anytime we can turn the lights down or shut things off it's going to affect (energy costs)," said Joe Moore, the energy manager for Richmond County schools.

Moore recently presented an energy update report to the Richmond County school board that showed the system is saving thousands in energy costs.

The average savings for a full furlough day in Richmond County, according to the report, is $11,839. The average shutdown savings for an early release day -- with teachers leaving a half-day early -- is $4,933.

So far this school year, Richmond County teachers have taken two early release days and three full days off. At Tuesday night's board meeting, members also approved two more half-days off for teachers to make up for a fifth furlough day for which their pay had been docked earlier in the year.

Those half-days will be on April 1 and 29.

If you take the average savings in the energy update report and factor in all of the days and half-days off this year, the savings is more than $55,000.

"It doesn't look like much when you compare it to a $6 million-a-year utility bill, but every bit helps," Moore said, noting how school system officials are looking for savings everywhere as state funding continues to dwindle.

The $55,000 figure doesn't include any bus transportation savings. School officials have estimated that one day without transportation costs saves the system about $4,300. All of the system's full furlough days for teachers this school year were on professional learning days, meaning there's no real transportation savings because students already weren't scheduled to attend class.

The issue of savings for a full or half-furlough day came up at the most recent school board meeting as members debated which to give teachers.

Board member Jimmy Atkins said he thought teachers should get a full day off because it would produce more in energy savings than two half-days, which would still require buses to run.

The half-days were approved, with Atkins the lone dissenting vote.

Other areas also have shown energy savings from furloughs.

Through the end of this summer break, Aiken County's school system will have had 10 furlough days, which should result in an overall energy savings of about $200,000, Comptroller Tray Traxler said.

Columbia County school officials didn't have a yearlong figure of savings specifically for furlough days, but for November, when schools were closed a week for Thanksgiving, there was a $31,000 energy savings, school system controller Pat Sullivan said in an e-mail.

Staff Writer Julia Sellers contributed to this article.