Framingham's Ameresco Upping Efficiency At Nev. Schools
Framingham-based energy efficiency company Ameresco is taking on one of its biggest projects yet: a $3.6-million contract with a school district in western Nevada. Ameresco will be upgrading 23 buildings in Lyon County, the state's fourth-largest school district, the company said in a statement.
Over 15 years, the improvements Ameresco will make to the district's school buildings are expected to save it $345,000, the company said.
Familiar Territory
Allen Sehrt, director of project development engineering for Ameresco, said school districts are a big part of Ameresco's customer base. "As a company, the K-12 school district market is just a good fit overall for performance contracting," he said. "It's a good vehicle for school districts (to save money overall). We're using an existing budget to do capital improvements."
After submitting a contract bid, Ameresco was selected to do the project in 2010, said Sehrt. Following a comprehensive study of the buildings - 19 schools and four administration buildings totaling 1.2 million square feet - the upgrades began, and should be completed by fall, he said.
Specifically, Ameresco will be installing vending machine controls with occupancy sensors to conserve power, said Sehrt. "It detects if people are around the machine," he said, "Beverages are kept cold, but if no one's around, the lights go out and the temperature goes up a few degrees."
Trash compactors are also in the plan for the buildings, Sehrt said. They do use power, he said, but will save money overall as the district is charged per pickup. And the savings will actually roll on, he said. "Lyon County schools financed (the work) over a 15-year term and the trash compactors will continue to save money over the expected life of the trash compactors ... about 20 years," he said.
Also, ventilation systems will be installed in multipurpose rooms, such as gymnasiums. Sehrt said they contain a carbon dioxide indicator feature that detects how many people are in the room, and adjusts the air accordingly. The number of light systems will be reduced and replaced with more efficient fixtures, he said.
"Making these energy-efficiency upgrades also allows the district to capture $77,000 in rebates from the local natural gas and electric utility companies," Ameresco said in a statement, adding that the reduced carbon dioxide emissions are equal to powering 208 homes for a year.
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