Value Delivered
EMCOR Construction Services Midwest replaced aging mechanical and building automation systems in a 100,000-square-foot middle school with new, more energy-efficient systems that offer a 25-year life.
The school’s mechanical systems were originally installed in the 1970s and had become increasingly inefficient and costly to operate and maintain. Inconsistent indoor temperatures were also adversely affecting the learning environment.
We performed this project under a guaranteed savings contract (GSC) which helped to ensure our solution would meet the school’s precise specifications for temperature, humidity, CO2, lighting, and noise levels.
When the client received state approval for the project, we were required to complete this major upgrade during the summer. We self-performed the design-build process to meet this challenging schedule. This enabled seamless design, construction, and commissioning, and early procurement of long lead-time components.
Our solutions helped the client save $280,000 over 10 years in annual operational, maintenance, and energy costs.
Additionally, our work helped the school enjoy more stable temperatures, lower humidity, quieter classrooms, and an improved instructional environment overall.
Client Objectives
The client wanted to reduce energy consumption and costs, while improving their indoor environment.
Solutions
To manage this project’s challenging schedule, we coordinated 20 personnel from various trades working on-site simultaneously. We also worked in tight spaces to install the new distribution ductwork and piping.
While work was in progress, we avoided disruption to ongoing administrative and athletic activities, and maintained a comfortable indoor temperature and humidity levels after classes ended in June.
To ensure we upheld safety commitment, we blocked off sections of the school and limited access to the roof during construction. To further meet safety and security criteria, we completed a portion of the project during evening and weekend shifts.
The value of our safety commitment became evident when a severe storm hit unexpectedly on a Friday evening. The project team immediately brought in generators, repaired damages, and secured the site to help ensure work could continue safely. Our solutions included:
- Demolition and removal of existing HVAC units
- Crane-lifting of new air-handling equipment into two rooftop mechanical rooms
- installation of an energy-efficient variable air volume system with chilled-water cooling and hot-water heating
- Integration of a high-efficiency air-cooled chiller, high-efficiency condensing hot-water boiler, and direct digital control system
- Complete commissioning, including measuring the indoor temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide, noise, and lighting levels at project initiation and completion to help ensure the client’s energy-efficiency and noise reduction criteria were being met
- Annual reevaluation of the performance of our solutions and delivery of a performance report to the school district and the state throughout the GESC’s term
Client Background
The Bluffton-Harrison Metropolitan School district serves approximately 1,500 students in three schools.