Texas School District Improves Energy Efficiency

Performance Contract from TAC Results in Utility Savings

Dallas – January 26, 2009 – The Jasper Independent School District (JISD) in Jasper, Texas, is implementing more than $1.4 million in facility enhancements designed to improve operations, comfort and efficiency at 11 district buildings totaling almost 600,000 square feet. TAC, the Building Automation Business Unit of Schneider Electric, is completing the work as a performance contract with the district and guarantees that the JISD will reduce its utility costs by $124,000 annually.

Located in east Texas, surrounded by lakes and tall pine trees, the JISD serves almost 3,000 students in grades Pre-K through 12. JISD needed to improve its facilities and to reduce energy consumption at the same time. The TAC performance contract made both possible.

“Our facilities were in need of various mechanical system upgrades, and the recent surge in utility costs made us acutely aware of the need for energy conservation,” said Carolyn Foster, executive director of finance and operations for JISD. “The performance contract provided a method of addressing all of these issues without having to raise additional money through a tax increase.”

Performance contracting offers many long-term benefits for school districts, such as improved facility efficiency, occupant comfort, financial management and environmental protection. Typically, new, more efficient equipment and upgraded facility automation systems maximize energy efficiency and generate utility savings. TAC guarantees the amount of savings performance contracting projects will achieve and agrees to pay the difference if that amount is not realized.

TAC tackled the problems at JISD with several energy conservation measures (ECMs), such as installing new heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment at the junior high school; replacing the existing lighting at district buildings with new, energy-efficient fixtures; upgrading gymnasium lighting with high efficiency bulbs; and installing a district-wide energy management system (EMS).

“Students and staff at JISD will enjoy a better learning and working environment as a result of these facility updates,” said Shon Anderson, vice president of sales, TAC Energy Solutions. “With the new EMS, district staff can manage and control HVAC and other systems at all the district’s facilities from a central station. In addition to improved comfort, these ECMs will provide enough costs savings through lower utilities to pay for all the improvements.”

About TAC
TAC, the Building Automation Business Unit of Schneider Electric, is a leading provider of building automation solutions based on Open Integrated Systems for Building IT. TAC's mission is to provide added value through building environment services for indoor climate, security and use of energy, delivered with advanced technology to end users and property owners throughout the world. With over 80 years of experience in the HVAC, building automation and security arenas, TAC employs more than 8,000 people worldwide, with partners and branches in 80 countries. TAC's parent company, Schneider Electric, is the global specialist in energy management, with 120,000 employees worldwide and operations in 102 countries. For more information, visit www.tac.com and www.schneider-electric.com.

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