- Neshoba County Schools upgrading lighting and building automation systems across district
- Partnership includes sponsorship of Neshoba Central High School jumbotron
Neshoba County Schools today announced its work with energy and sustainability expert Schneider Electric to modernize building lighting district-wide and connect all schools on one building automation system (BAS). The project is made possible by reinvesting energy savings to create a more comfortable and nurturing environment for students, faculty and staff throughout the district. The lighting and automation upgrades are expected to save the district more than $100,000 a year.
Prior to the project, the Neshoba County School District was relying on separate BAS platforms for its educational facilities. These systems, which were siloed and had no ability to communicate with each other, prevented the school district from being able to control more than one HVAC system at a time, wasting time for the district’s facility managers—and ultimately taxpayer dollars. Working with Schneider Electric and a local contractor, the district is modernizing its existing facilities’ lighting and BAS to match the brand-new Neshoba Central High School, which opened in 2017. The district is paying for the upgrades through an energy savings performance contract (ESPC) that eliminates the need for capital outlay and funds the improvements directly from the expected energy savings. Increasing efficiency through the energy infrastructure allows the school district to put more money towards enhancing efficiency and student comfort, not its energy use.
“The partnership with Schneider Electric is instrumental in helping us to provide an improved environment for all who pass through our doors. By saving energy, we’re saving time for our staff and money for our taxpayers,” said Dr. Lundy Brantley, superintendent of Neshoba County Schools. “The energy savings and reinvestment program means we can borrow against our future to take care of necessary facility improvements now. It’s a winning combination for the district.”
The lighting and BAS upgrades will impact various buildings across the school district’s campus, including the Neshoba Central Elementary, Middle and High Schools, the central administrative office, athletic facilities and bus barn, encompassing some 400,875 square feet. All lighting throughout these facilities will be upgraded to LEDs and all educational buildings will be placed on one building automation system, incorporating the existing platform at Neshoba Central High School, making all schools accessible from one comprehensive interface.
The partnership between Schneider Electric and Neshoba County Schools not only focuses on energy efficiency and cost savings, but on the outlook of the community as a whole. Schneider Electric is sponsoring Neshoba Central High School’s new state-of-the-art jumbotron, to be utilized in the school’s brand-new football stadium.
“Building on our previous work with Neshoba County, we are thrilled to be expanding our impact on the residents and students of the school district,” said Tammy Fulop, vice president, Schneider Electric. “Neshoba County Schools will set an excellent example for other similar districts who are looking to modernize their facilities in a fiscally responsible way, benefitting both today’s students and the many students to come.”
Construction is expected to start in early 2020, and project completion is anticipated in November 2020. Once implemented, the upgrades are projected to save more than one million kWh of energy a year, equivalent to removing 187 cars from the road, powering 112 houses or planting 34,820 trees.
Over the past 27 years, Schneider Electric has successfully implemented more than 750 energy ESPC projects across the nation, saving its clients more than $2.5 billion. This project delivery method helps publicly funded entities make capital improvements over longer payback periods and offers many long-term benefits such as improved facility efficiency, occupant comfort, financial management and environmental protection.
For more information on how Schneider Electric helps K-12 schools tackle energy efficiency, please visit www.schneider-electric.us/enable.
