Schneider Electric -
June 3, 2009
Energy Savings to Fund School Improvements
TAC Performance Contract Boosts South Texas District
DALLAS – June 3, 2009 – The Santa Rosa Independent School District (SRISD) in Santa Rosa, Texas, is implementing $1.8 million in facility enhancements designed to improve operations, comfort and efficiency in its school buildings. TAC by Schneider Electric, the building management and energy services business of Schneider Electric, will complete the work as a performance contract with the district. TAC guarantees that the SRISD will reduce its utility costs by $183,000 annually when the project is completed later in 2009.
Located in Cameron County , the southernmost county in Texas , the SRISD serves more than 1,200 students in grades Pre-K through 12. The district has three campuses containing more than 264,000 square feet of space. SRISD turned to TAC for a remedy to rising utility charges and a solution for inconsistent and sometimes extreme temperatures within its school buildings.
“Our district was experiencing numerous comfort complaints due to temperature inconsistency and at the same time, very high energy bills,” said Lucio Mendoza, business manager for SRISD. “We also knew that much of our mechanical equipment was at the end of its useful life. Unfortunately, we also had major budget constraints. The performance contract, which funds improvements with energy savings, was the best way to control our high utility charges and start upgrading our infrastructure without having to find new financial resources.”
Performance contracting offers many long-term benefits for school districts, such as improved facility efficiency, occupant comfort, financial management and environmental protection. TAC guarantees the amount of savings performance contracting projects will achieve and agrees to pay the difference if that amount is not realized.
TAC will enable the SRISD to precisely regulate temperatures in the schools with a new, unified energy management system. Other energy conservation measures (ECMs) TAC will use for SRISD include installing occupancy sensors and energy-efficient lighting. TAC will also better utilize the existing equipment at the middle school to provide adequate cooling so the district will not have to replace two air-conditioning units, which will result in a substantial savings.
‘TAC has provided the SRISD a host of ECMs to lower utility costs and give this district a way to fund important facility and infrastructure improvements,” said Shon Anderson, vice president of sales, TAC Energy Solutions. “Being green is not just a luxury for well funded school districts. It means saving money and putting resources to better use than paying high utility charges. Students and staff in Santa Rosa ’s schools will be able to enjoy a better learning and working environment as a result of these facility updates.”