Earlier this year, the experts at FICO helped complete a major BMS upgrade of the HVAC System for Havre Public Schools in Havre, Montana.
Providing quality ventilation, climate control, and building management systems (BMS) in classrooms is serious work that is vital to schools’ operations. Fresh air ensures students remain alert and ready to learn. Frequent air exchanges also provide excellent protection against infectious diseases. Well-implemented BMS systems can also help school districts save as much as 30% on energy costs through the efficient operation of mechanical equipment.
FICO Steps in with Havre Public Schools
In early 2023, Havre Public Schools selected Ameresco, a Massachusetts-based company specializing in renewable energy and energy efficiency, to upgrade school district buildings. Ameresco turned to the FICO experts to install the project’s BMS portion.
School districts, like hospitals and universities, pose a unique challenge to energy management. Most districts start with a few schools and related structures, but as they grow and evolve, newer buildings incorporate updated versions of HVAC systems and controls. This sometimes happens within a single school. After a few decades, it is not uncommon for one school to have three different HVAC operating systems. In addition, districts add new schools as communities grow, and these new institutions also incorporate newer systems, making them more efficient than older schools, but at the same time, making the entire system unwieldy and challenging to manage.
In addition, Havre, in the northern part of Montana, is 34 miles south of the Canadian border. Winter temperatures are often below freezing in the daytime and remain at that level for weeks.
“FICO’s task was to integrate all the existing systems, making them centrally controlled from the district offices,” said Dan Morris, a project manager at FICO. Morris added that one of the challenges they faced was that some older schools had incomplete documentation. As systems were modernized over the years, the accompanying paperwork was not always properly updated.
“It’s a common problem,” Morris said. “Sometimes it was difficult to identify and track what technology was incorporated into the system.”
Several Significant Challenges
Havre Public Schools includes five schools: three elementary schools, a junior high school, and a high school. Brandon Berreth, a service technician at FICO, worked on the project and brought extensive knowledge to the team.
“I worked at Havre Public Schools in maintenance for fifteen years,” he said. Berreth was the supervisor of the maintenance team when he left Havre Public Schools to work at FICO. “I know most of those buildings like the back of my hand. Highland Park Elementary was by far the most significant challenge. It’s the oldest school in the district, more than 60 years old. There have been two major additions. Every wing has a different system. There’s an air handler/VAV system, a radiant floor-heat system, and a radiant finned-tube system. We needed to get all of them under one control system.”
“Everything at Highland Park was pneumatically controlled,” added Morris. “We changed it all over to digital. That in itself is a significant change. Maintenance will no longer have to scrounge on e-Bay for replacement parts.”
Substantial work also happened at Havre High School, which received new unit ventilators in each classroom. The middle school received a new boiler plant. FICO’s portion of the project accounted for more than $1 million in services and systems. Federal funding, including ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds, was used to pay for the project.
The Final Results
To govern the district-wide HVAC system, FICO installed the latest version of the EcoStruxure Platform from Schneider Electric. FICO is a Master level partner with Schneider Electric and has been partnered with them for over 20 years.
“When we finished, it was all one system, and everything communicated,” said Berreth. “The custodial supervisor can see what every school is doing from his office, and the head custodian at each school can also control that school’s system.”
“I’m very pleased with the result,” said Scott Filius, Facilities Director at Havre Public Schools. “The central reporting is great. Our maintenance people can pull up a printout in the morning and verify that everything is working well. If there is a problem, we’re out in front of it. Before, we were always reactionary.”
Moses Deanon, business manager at Havre Public Schools, added that the project was officially completed this past October, which makes it too early to get a complete picture of the energy savings. The integration of new HVAC equipment, however, along with the most updated BMS system providing central controls, will surely propel Havre Schools into the category of saving as much as 30% in their energy bills.
FICO Can Make a Difference
FICO has a twenty-year track record of providing turnkey building management systems (BMS) for schools, businesses, office buildings, hospitals, and other facilities. FICO professionals are also experts in building security, access control, and system integration services. FICO personnel have numerous industry certifications from major suppliers, including Schneider Electric, Tridium, Danfoss, and others.
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