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Merkel ISD Launches Energy Efficiency Project to Transform District

Published Date

Merkel Independent School District (ISD) has announced the start of an energy efficiency project with Schneider Electric to enhance the safety and security of the students and staff on campus. The project is designed to leverage savings from the district’s energy budget to fund much-needed infrastructure upgrades. This project will help reduce the district’s utility consumption by 17 percent, and will also generate guaranteed savings in excess of $1.8 million over the life of the project.

Before the project began, Merkel faced a vast array of challenges, including deferred maintenance that initially drove them to pursue an energy efficiency project.

As part of the project, the school district is also taking a proactive stance on campus security by incorporating additional upgrade elements such as fencing, access controls and security cameras. The district is also investing in unique ways to improve the special education classroom environment through human-centric lighting that is designed to improve student performance and behavior.

“Starting this project with Schneider Electric is giving us the chance to show our community how important their safety is to us,” said Mr. Bryan Allen, superintendent of Merkel ISD. “We are excited to make these necessary upgrades for the betterment of our facilities, now and into the future”

Merkel ISD’s partnership empowers the district to put its students first by providing them with a safer, more comfortable experience. Overall, Schneider Electric will be implementing a number of upgrades throughout the district including:

  • Increasing school safety and security with a new camera system, security vestibules, badge access controls and fencing
  • Brightening the district with new interior and exterior LED lighting
  • Modernizing facilities by replacing outdated heating and cooling equipment
  • Providing a comprehensive building automation system for occupant comfort
  • Improving water fixture efficiency
  • Enhancing the environment of special education classrooms with human-centric lighting

“Improving the school district’s energy consumption puts funding that would typically be allocated to utilities back into the classroom,” said Tammy Fulop, vice president, Schneider Electric. “Merkel ISD is a premier example of how to take action in not only improving energy efficiency, but improving the learning environment for its community’s students.”

Once completed, the project will provide utility savings equivalent to removing 426 tons of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, removing 90 cars from the road or planting 502 acres of new trees.

Over the past 27 years, Schneider Electric has successfully implemented more than 740 energy savings performance contract (ESPC) projects across the nation, saving its clients nearly $2.5 billion. This project delivery method helps publicly funded entities make capital improvements over longer payback periods and offers many long-term benefits such as improved facility efficiency, occupant comfort, financial management and environmental protection.

For more information on how Schneider Electric helps K-12 schools tackle energy efficiency, please visit www.schneider-electric.us/enable or contact your local Schneider Electric representative.