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Energy Management

Energy Management

 
Facility Services has been doing projects to save money on energy cost to the District.  We have completed a number of HVAC and lighting control projects, lighting retrofits (replacements) with technology that reduces consumed wattage, boiler retrofits and more.  We are also exploring solar, wind and other alternative energy strategies that can be employed by the District to reduce our energy dependence on fossil fuels and and save energy expenditures.

For example, on the HVAC side, the District has in the past standardized on through the wall units.  These units were easy to install and enabled us to install them in tight time frames (summer construction).  This made these units ideal.  Their downside is that they are somewhat noisy and consumed higher energy than other types of systems.  With our focus on energy reduction, we introduced a new technology in the District called variable refrigerant systems.  This is a fairly new technology in the United States; but is has been around in Europe for some time.  This technology has some distinct advantages over the through the wall units.  To list a few, the technology provides better comfort, low noise levels, flexible and quick installation, much lower energy consumption, and low space requirements.  The new units are currently installed at Lower Richland High School, W. A. Perry Middle School, and Millcreek Elementary School.  As more of our systems age, it is our hope to replace them with quieter and more energy efficient systems.