The Central Dauphin School District this week announced an $8.2-million energy efficiency and conservation program designed by Honeywell.

 

The program, which combines traditional facility retrofits with several innovative conservation measures, will help the district upgrade buildings, reduce its environmental footprint and save approximately $1.1 million in utility costs per year.

 

The district will use these savings -- guaranteed by Honeywell through a 15-year performance contract

-- to pay for the improvements, which will impact more than 20 facilities. So the work will not require an upfront capital investment or additional taxpayer dollars.

 

Overall, the program will significantly curb the district's energy use. For example, it is expected to reduce annual electricity consumption by more than 4.9 million kilowatt-hours, enough energy to power 450 homes. In addition, it will cut carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 12 million pounds per year.

 

According to figures from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, this is equivalent to removing 1,200 cars from the road. The district also expects to save more than 4.4 million gallons of water annually.

 

"We had three basic needs: become more energy efficient, improve our facilities and ensure these upgrades were sustainable," said Richard Miller, acting superintendent for Central Dauphin School District, which serves almost 12,000 students. "Working with Honeywell will help us meet these goals without having to overextend our operating budget."

 

One of the focal points of the program is the replacement of more than 3,300 cathode ray tube monitors with energy-efficient liquid crystal displays. In addition to decreasing energy use, the monitor conversion will allow the district to eliminate more than 16,500 pounds of lead from the old monitors, which will be recycled, and improve the educational environment for students and staff. Honeywell will install power management software on more than 5,000 computers across the district as well, to further reduce costs when the machines are not in use.

 

The district will also implement Honeywell Enterprise Buildings Integrator, a facility management platform that boosts efficiency and reduces operating costs by integrating core building technology. The installation will include new electrical submeters at various locations to provide a more granular view of the district's energy consumption. Using Honeywell Energy Manager, a component of EBI, district personnel will analyze the metering data to develop benchmarks, evaluate conservation strategies and identify additional efficiency measures.

 

In addition, Honeywell will make a variety of other improvements, including:

 

-- Replacing outdated lighting throughout the district with high-efficiency fixtures and occupancy sensors;

 

-- Upgrading five boiler plants and replacing existing boilers with a combination of natural gas-fired and oil-fired boilers at each plant. This will allow the district to take advantage of natural gas or heating oil, whichever is the more economical choice;

 

-- Caulking, weather-stripping and sealing building doors, windows and seams to reduce the loss of hot and cool air; and

 

-- Installing new plumbing fixtures to decrease water use.

 

The program is currently underway and Honeywell expects to complete the upgrades and improvements by early 2010.

 

"With performance contracts, school districts like Central Dauphin can address energy efficiency head on without putting an unrealistic strain on budgets," said Paul Orzeske, president of Honeywell Building Solutions. "The work will have a positive impact on the entire community and keep the district running efficiently well into the future."