County schools campus upgrades underway
Sep. 16—Representing Schneider Electric, Todd Smith addressed the Cullman County Board of Education just before its Thursday afternoon meeting to deliver updates on mechanical and electrical upgrades to the system's campuses.
After consulting with the board to address several of the district's most critical needs, a phase-1 strategy was developed to allow the maintenance department to address issues more proactively and to increase the comfort of students and faculty within the schools.
The scope of work for this initiative included new LED lighting for the interiors and exteriors across all campuses that will now be controlled by occupancy sensors. These lights have currently been installed to all campuses except the Child Development Center and the Cullman Area Technology Academy where installation is scheduled for completion in October.
Fairview's campus received the largest amount of work with a complete overhaul of their HVAC system. The aging boiler was replaced with a newer, more efficient condenser boiler. Superintendent Shane Barnette reported that the new boiler is operating at 90 percent efficiency vs. the 70 percent boiler that was replaced. The fluid cooler was also replaced in addition to swapping out window A/C units for newer split units.
Schneider will also be implementing an automation system that will allow the maintenance department to monitor the temperatures within individual classrooms, and dispatch maintenance teams more effectively.
According to Smith's estimates these improvements will result in an annual reduction of $362,814 to the CCBOE's baseline utility cost which equates to nearly $10 million over the course of a 20 year partnership.
"That's the goal of everything that we do, is to reduce your cost while making the learning environment more comfortable for the kids," Smith said.
