The Opportunity
Oak Grove is a growing community just outside of the Kansas City metropolitan area. The school district consists of a high school, a middle school, two elementary schools and an early childhood building.
Recently the district started to evaluate a bond issue to address growing needs in their district. As is often the case, there were more needs than funds available. Old and outdated building controls caused equipment to run far more than necessary, and many of the heating and air conditioning was old and inefficient and did not bring in adequate fresh air. Additionally, there were multiple types of mechanical and building automation systems throughout the district that was a maintenance concern.
The district also had issues with the amount of electric and natural gas being consumed by several of the buildings, in particular the middle school.
The Technical Solution
During the investment grade audit of the district’s facilities, Navitas found several areas for improvement. The building automation system caused units in some buildings to try and hold a precise temperature set point, resulting in constant cycles between heating and cooling, as well as long run hours on fans and other equipment. We standardized the building automation system for the entire district and were able to replace all of the aging HVAC systems.
While investigating the facilities, Navitas also found large gaps in ventilation ductwork that was allowing conditioned air to be blown out above the ceiling. These gaps were fixed along with sealing up the building around doors, windows, and walls to prevent drafts and wasted energy. As a result of these improvements the district saw a substantial drop in their utility cost, in particular, the middle school had a drop of over 50% in their electric consumption.
The Financial Solution
The district worked with their financial advisor to obtain a lease purchase to finance their project. Savings from this project allows the district to address over $5,500,000 of building needs outside of bond issue funds.
