InsideIQ Building Automation Alliance Firm Enables Schools To Save Energy, Raise EnergyStar Ratings

ERIE, Pa., April 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Fort LeBoeuf School District in northwest Pennsylvania is saving more than $160,000 annually after completing a multi-phase facility enhancement program. InsideIQ™ Building Automation Alliance member SmartEdge, a provider of facility control products, systems and support, completed projects designed to lower utility costs and resolve infrastructure problems at district buildings as well as raise the EnergyStar ratings for each of the district's schools. SmartEdge is a longstanding member of the InsideIQ Building Automation Alliance, an international alliance of independent building automation contractors, in western New York and northwest Pennsylvania.

The first phase of the facility enhancement plan, implemented at a cost of $1.3 million, focused on four of the district's five school buildings. SmartEdge completed upgrades to interior and exterior lighting, installed new heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system controls, optimized boiler plant operations, retro-commissioned major HVAC equipment, rebalanced air flows, and installed a new high efficiency chiller. As a result, the district is saving $129,000 in utility and operating costs annually.

The second phase of SmartEdge's plan focused strictly on the Robison Elementary facility and aimed not only at improving energy efficiency but also at upgrading life safety and security systems. The $3.3 million program of facility enhancements included upgrades to interior and exterior lighting, installation of a new HVAC system and associated direct digital controls (DDC), installation of new windows, upgrades to fire and security systems, and installation of a new district-wide telephone system. Annual utility and operating savings from this project are $34,000.

All of the Fort LeBoeuf Schools have improved their EnergyStar ratings as a result of these projects. Administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the EnergyStar program provides a standardized method of benchmarking similar buildings. The high school's EnergyStar rating improved to 72 from 21, the middle school to 84 from 54, one elementary school rose from 36 to 81, the other went from 12 to 84, and Robison Elementary increased its EnergyStar rating from 84 to 99.

The InsideIQ Building Automation Alliance is an organization of independent commercial building automation companies representing common automation and security system platforms. More information is available at www.insideiq.org.

SOURCE InsideIQ Building Automation Alliance