by Brianna Crandall — March 28, 2016—ABM, a U.S.-based international provider of facility solutions, recently announced its ABM Building Solutions business has been selected by Anderson County School District 2 and District 3 in South Carolina to implement comprehensive infrastructure improvements through ABM’s Bundled Energy Solutions program.
The customized solution developed by ABM will provide energy-efficient upgrades and facility enhancements to eleven schools within Anderson County. The projects, which began in fall 2015 and will be completed in summer 2016, are expected to save the two districts more than $6 million in energy and operating costs over a 15-year period.
ABM’s Bundled Energy Solutions Program is designed as a financial solution to meet clients’ technical facility needs and sustainability goals. For ABM, the goal is to drive costs out of a client’s operating budget, allowing savings to be reallocated to fund critical facility needs.
Anderson County School District 3 will be working alongside ABM to provide infrastructure upgrades within its three elementary schools, the middle school, the high school, and the Board of Education building. In addition to the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system upgrades, installation of light-emitting diode (LED) lighting, energy-efficient transformers and water conservation measures, facility and deferred maintenance improvements include:
- New HVAC units including chiller, boiler and unit ventilators in two wings of two schools;
- Utilization of global plasma solution (GPS) technology in in two wings of two schools and a third school’s gym to improve indoor air quality (IAQ) and to reduce humidity challenges in the gym; and
- Installation of PC power management software on the school district’s computing network to help to maximize savings while avoiding loss of productivity.
Dr. Mason Gary, superintendent for Anderson School District 3, noted:
Due to limited funds, we have not been able to make needed improvements to the students’ learning environment, as our primary focus has been on enhancing the curriculum we provide to our students each year. With ABM’s solution we don’t have to select between student-focused initiatives and improving our infrastructure.
Anderson School District 3 will also be taking advantage of the SouthCarolinaSAVES Green Community Program, which affords low-interest-rate financing for energy efficiency in South Carolina business, institutional and government properties. The program’s funding may be used to purchase and install energy-efficient fixtures and retrofits, renewable energy systems, water conservation measures, and other qualifying conservation measures including lighting, HVAC, controls, envelope and process improvement upgrades.
The federal subsidy from this program will decrease the interest rate for the Anderson School District 3 project to a rate of less than 2% for 15 years. This is expected to result in over $900,000 in interest savings for the life of the program.
Within Anderson County School District 2, energy and facility improvements will be made to the school district’s three elementary schools, two middle schools, and the high school building as well as the primary school. The comprehensive infrastructure upgrade and modernization of the district’s school buildings include:
- Replacement of HVAC systems and control upgrades;
- Replacement of existing lighting with LED lighting;
- Installation of energy-efficient transformers;
- Implementation of water-conservation measures by installing low-flow plumbing fixtures and retrofitting kitchen sinks with pedal valves; and
- Installation of electric hand-dryers throughout the district’s buildings to reduce waste and lower facility costs.
View an infographic on how ABM is building value for educational facilities through its Bundled Energy Solutions Program.
