Williamson County School District: Energy Management System

Customer Profile:

The Williamson County School system is a K-12 school district with approximately 19,000 students. There are 28 school sites that account for approximately 2.6 million square feet of space. Over the past several years, the school system has made great strives in networking all 28 schools with an online Energy Management System. Customer Issues:

• Increasing Energy and Maintenance Costs
• Lack of Central Control of Mechanical and Lighting Systems on a District-Wide Level
• Comfort Issues in Many Classrooms

Project Objective:

As part of a comprehensive energy management project, we installed energy management controls in most of the Williamson County School System. These improvements were designed to gain control of the mechanical systems for greater efficiency and optimum performance. In addition, the control over the lighting systems offered the total system management the school system was desiring.

Results:

Improved control of the mechanical and lighting systems, as well as reduced utility cost throughout the district was the result. The new Energy Management System included installing building automation packages that encompass controls for heat pumps, boilers, chillers, variable frequency drives (VFD), dampers, zone control valves, and some lighting systems. All systems were linked district-wide though internet connections. Each facility has an executive processor (EP) with on-board storage of programs and data, and is capable of stand alone operation with or without the host computer. The EP systems have global parameters including demand pulse input for pulse-type utility metering, emergency input for the fire alarm system, outdoor temperature sensor input, and phase/power loss monitoring. Williamson County school officials and maintenance staff are extremely pleased with the energy savings and control that was realized though their Energy Management System.