District News

Facility improvements result in energy savings for MISD

February 4, 2013

Energy savings from lighting and boiler upgrades at Islander Middle School and Mercer Island High School have resulted in a projected annual savings of $14,258 for the Mercer Island School District. This number was released in a recent report from McKinstry & Company, an engineering firm contracted by the district in May 2010 to install the upgrades and track performance.

The Energy Services Proposal (ESP) combined Facility Improvement Measures (FIMs) that would generate energy savings without direct input or action from facility personnel and those that would only generate energy savings if the facility strictly adhered to recommended operations and maintenance practices. The following upgrades were installed in October 2010:

  • Lighting Upgrades: Replacement of metal halide high bay fixtures in the main, auxiliary, and gymnastics gymnasia with T8 lamps and occupancy sensors.
  • Boiler Upgrades: This includes the existing boilers with natural gas condensing boilers totaling 6,000 MBH in capacity. This measure also included new primary circulation pumps and new boiler flues.           

According to the McKinstry report, “Our pre and post survey verification tasks have confirmed that all Facility Improvement Measures are on track to meet or exceed their Guaranteed Energy Savings -- an estimated 75,054 kWh of electricity and 7,552 therms of heating.”

“We are thrilled with this report,” said Superintendent Gary Plano. “I would especially like to thank our maintenance staff for their constant vigilance and exceptional performance in operating and maintaining our equipment.”