“I can hear my teacher now.” That was one student’s reaction in Dodge City, Kansas, after the school district decided to pair our Water-source Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) with geothermal technology in two of its buildings. That reaction – and the reduced utility bills – inspired the school district to retrofit every building in the district with a VRF system.
Each summer, the district focused efforts on one building installation. The first of these renovations was in the 35,000-square-foot Central Elementary School (Central) – a two-story brick building built in 1927. Previously for cooling, the school used window a/c units from the early 90s and an even older natural gas heating system from the “1940s or 50s.” After decades of use, neither system worked efficiently.
The following summer, Wilroads Elementary School (Wilroads) – a 19,000-square-foot building from the 1950s – was completed. Both Central and Wilroads earned ENERGY STAR® certification. Central even scored a 91 in that certification. “When you think about how it was built in 1927, well, we think that’s pretty impressive,” said William Hammond, the district’s executive director of business operations.
The Dodge City Unified School District’s energy manager, Morris Reeves, spoke of the decision to use VRF saying: “We work every day to conserve energy. Energy conserved is more money for the classroom – that’s what we’re all about.” Hammond added: “I like being green to save energy and resources, and being green to save money. I try to find projects that do both.” By pairing water-source VRF with geothermal technology, the school district was able to do both. This system earned the district a claim of $215,000 in grants and rebates. And now, nearly 7,000 students can hear their teachers.
To read more about Dodge City Schools, check out the case study.
No comments:
Post a Comment