Enhancing Energy Efficiency: The Rochester City School District Journey

1. A Commitment to Energy Efficiency ANDEnergy Management John Songer, CEP Plant Engineer Rochester City School District

2. The Presenter - John Songer, CEP • Plant Engineer for Rochester City School District • Certified in Energy Procurement • Responsible for $11M/yr. utility budget • Controls & Energy Services background

3. Rochester City School District • A “Big Five” District in New York State with nearly 35,000 Students • 50+ Facilities - average age 64 years • 7.1M Sq. Ft. • $11M annual utility budget • Purchase 8,960,000 kWh Wind Energy Annually

4. Energy Management – a commitment built on Partnerships • Internal and External Customers • Policies and enforcement • Conservation Programs • Energy Efficient Upgrades • Tracking and Monitoring Results • Benchmarking utilities and maintenance

5. Energy Management cont. • Maintenance – Steam Trap, coils, filters, boiler tuning, belts, building envelope etc. • Custodial Operations- Scheduling Events, Work Orders, HVAC Preventative Maint. • Education and Awareness of Employees. • EMS Programs – Holiday, Recess, Snow Day, Night setback, schedule selections • Utility Meters – Pulse heads. • Procurement – Multiple Strategies. • Data Base of Expenses.

6. Energy Management cont. • In 2001-2002 Fiscal • Natural Gas 4,501,057 therms $2,781,964 .618 • Electricity 53,863,071 kWh $4,462,918 .083 • In 2005-2006 Fiscal • Natural Gas 3,473,308 therms $4,959,239 1.428 • Electricity 48,098,974 kWh $4,274,325 .089 • Increase efficiency of mechanical and electrical systems • Introduce energy education and awareness to students and staff • Reduce pollution emissions • Use utility rebates, State aid and incentives

7. Energy Project Financials Total Project Cost: $20,565,644 Total Est. kW Savings: 2,106 kW Total Est. kWh Savings: 6,858,626 kWh annually Total Est. mmBtu Savings: 49,363 mmBtu annually Emissions Total Est. NOX reduction: 5 tons annually Total Est. SOX reduction: 16 tons annually Total Est. CO2 reduction: 5,757 tons annually

8. Project Statistics Equipment Installed: • 5 new boiler plants • 27,000 lighting fixtures • 2,500 occupancy sensors • 300,000 square feet of new ceiling • high efficient motors • vending machine controls

9. Project Description • Replace ceilings and upgrade lighting • Standardize (one Mfr.) and upgrade energy management systems (EMS) • Install high efficiency motors and variable speed drives • New boiler plants in 5 schools • Burner management systems on all large boilers

10. Project Delivery Methodology • Construction management web site • Pulse heads on utility meters tied to EMS • Local ESCO, design firms and contractors • Benefits local economy • Standards and specifications • Lamps, ballast, motors, and drives • Continuity in perpetual inventories, quantity discounts, product warrantees

11. Team/Resources • District Personnel • Architects / Construction Inspectors • Engineers • Custodians • Operations / Maintenance • Security • Administrators / Legal Counsel

12. Team / Resources (continued) • ESCO & Design Firm Personnel • Professional Engineers • Registered Architects • Certified Energy Managers • Construction Managers

13. Why Energy Performance Contracting? • Capital project bond limitations • Construction cycles limit energy savings • Energy & O&M savings with improved comfort, lighting, and air quality • Strong implications on student performance, health and safety • EMS upgrades improve control, load shedding, and monitoring capability

14. RCSD Project Process • Comprehensive Energy Audits (CEA) from NYSERDA Flex Tech program • Request for Proposals (RFP) to ESCOs. ESCOs required to perform CEA on 2 sample schools • Selection was made for local ESCO with the highest quality, lowest cost proposal • Awarded to Wendel Energy Services LLC

15. RCSD Project Process (cont.) • Graded ESCOs for • Statement of Qualifications • Technical capability • Staffing Plans • Financial Terms • Project Schedule

16. How is RCSD Unique? • Chose “professionally assisted performance contract” approach • ESCO proposals disclosed all costs (comparable to capital renovation costs) • All phases of project (design through pay applications) require District review and approval • Local design firms and contractors used • Education and awareness program through the Alliance to Save Energy with local project leader • Over 20 engineering mentors volunteer to educate students in energy conservation

17. Benefits • Environmental stewardship • Improved learning environment • Reduced maintenance and operations costs • Reduced consumption as hedge for increasing utility commodity costs • Create/retain jobs in local economy

18. Lessons learned • State Historic Preservation Office • State Education Department • ESCO selection • Operations & Maintenance issues • Plan ahead for abatements, product selections, deliverables, monitoring systems, and installation schedules

19. Current Status • 7.4 M kWh/yr savings • Students have saved >$300,000 • Improved comfort, aesthetics, and test scores • Conservation Programs funded from traditional sources • First K-12 in NYS to receive EPA Leaders Award • Six facilities have Energy Star Labels

20. Related Issues • Energy Procurement • Purchase energy from Municipal Cooperatives • Budget • EPC must create a positive cash flow • Monitoring and Verification • Automate, Automate, Automate • Questions • john.songer@rcsdk12.org 585-336-4152