Education: Texas School District

School district to reduce utility costs and improve campus safety through energy savings performance contract

Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management and automation, recently completed construction of a $2.5-million project for the White Oak Independent School District (ISD) in White Oak, Texas — work funded through an energy savings performance contract (ESPC).

The project marks the second phase of a long-term capital improvement partnership to reduce utility and operations costs, and improve comfort and safety for students and faculty. The White Oak community will benefit from state-of-the-art improvements at their schools and is guaranteed savings in excess of $4.4 million over the life of the contract.

White Oak ISD was facing various challenges including failing equipment at the middle school and high school, comfort concerns in the band hall, as well as potentially replacing the aging high school in the near future. With limited capital funds available to address these challenges, the district turned to Schneider Electric, a trusted partner since 2008, to develop a turn-key energy efficiency solution that has resolved a number of critical issues throughout the district’s ten facilities, using the dollar savings created by the energy efficiency measures to fund it. The project aligns with the district’s long-term vision to provide better educational and physical facilities without compromising financial well-being.

Key components of the project included a complete overhaul of the middle school’s chilled water plant as well as the replacement of 22 heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) units at the high school and band hall. The project also added two new HVAC units to the auditorium, allowing for separate control for stage and seating areas. Safety concerns for White Oak students and the community were also addressed by replacing outdoor lighting and controls with long-life, high-efficiency LED lighting.

“We strive to create a comfortable and safe environment where our students can learn and grow, and that becomes increasingly challenging as our facilities age,” said Michael Gilbert, Superintendent of White Oak ISD. “We had great success working with Schneider Electric on Phase I of this project. As we complete the construction of Phase II, we are pleased to address our infrastructure needs without negatively impacting our budget by relying on Schneider Electric’s energy savings guarantee.”

During the first phase of the project, Schneider Electric installed a building automation system (BAS) to monitor and optimize the district’s HVAC and lighting. Combined, the projects will help the district save more than 2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and 32,000 centum cubic feet of natural gas.

These energy savings provide a sizeable environmental impact on the community equivalent to removing 1,406 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, removing 297 cars from the road or planting 1,331 acres of new trees.

“White Oak ISD is a great example of how school districts can extend past successes to reach their energy and sustainability goals,” said Tammy Fulop, Vice President, Schneider Electric. “We are delighted to help the White Oak community find a financially sound approach for implementing long-term infrastructure solutions in its schools.”

In the past 24 years, Schneider Electric has successfully implemented more than 590 ESPC projects across the nation and helped clients save more than $1.4 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.

Visit se-enable.com for more information on guaranteed energy savings programs.

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