The Challenge
Like many school systems across the country, the Altar Valley School District, with a student body of approximately 1,500 students, found itself in a budget quandary: facility upgrades were necessary, but no additional budget resources were available—in fact, the budget was about to be cut. Facing impending budget cuts, AVSD needed to find a way to fund HVAC system upgrades and lower utility costs at the district’s middle school, elementary school, administration office, and transportation buildings.
The Solution
Alter Valley School District partnered with ABM to implement more than $430,000 in facility upgrades that included installing Autani’s EnergyCenter, a web-based, automated energy control system that allows AVSD to better manage lighting and HVAC energy use, reduce repair costs to HVAC equipment, and notify staff of problems as they arise. Using ABM’s bundled energy solutions program, improvements were funded with money already in the district’s operating budget.
WIRELESSLY MANAGED THERMOSTATS AND LED LIGHTING
Autani’s EnergyCenter system of networked thermostats and LED lighting controllers was deployed across AVSD. With remote management capabilities and an easy-to-use point-and-click interface, EnergyCenter schedules HVAC setpoints and lighting with automated setbacks and time out periods for unoccupied areas—automatically saving money and energy while keeping occupants comfortable.
The Results
AVSD was able to implement critical facility upgrades and install high-efficiency LED lighting without needing to request tax increases or additional capital dollars to fund the improvements. With the installation of Autani’s EnergyCenter and an infrastructure project that returned an abandoned well to service, AVSD will save $732,000 in energy and operating costs over a 15-year period.