The Wauseon Exempted Village Schools recently kicked off a $3.1 million project with Dynamix Energy Services, A Veregy Company, to optimize energy efficiency and reduce operating costs in their facilities.
Humidity and other comfort issues caused by a failing, aging HVAC system at the Primary School motivated the District to look into an energy project to fund a system replacement in the facility. By upgrading the District’s control system, the energy usage at the Elementary/Middle School and High School will be greatly reduced. Additionally, student and staff comfort will be improved by new temperature controls, and the health of occupants will be improved by the installation of updated ventilation equipment. The savings generated by reduced energy and operating costs will be used to fund the District’s much-needed HVAC upgrades, including replacement of two 160-ton air-cooled chillers/AC units at the high school. Additionally, the project savings will cover the costs to upgrade to new LED stage lighting in the high school auditorium. Wauseon will also be utilizing Orchestrate, an integrated smart building software platform developed by Dynamix to measure/verify energy savings in their facilities as well as more effectively manage their solar system, lighting, controls, energy usage, door access, and more.
Because the project will be self-funded through energy and operating cost savings, Wauseon’s capital budgets will be unaffected, making this a sound financial decision/investment for the District. The project is guaranteed to generate approximately $208,500 in energy and natural gas cost-savings in the first year and will maintain similar savings for years to come, generating an annual positive cash flow for Wauseon from the onset throughout the life of the project. The upgrades will also reduce energy and natural gas consumption by 1,239,002 kWh and 12,648 MCF, respectively. The District shared that “We feel extremely fortunate to be able to partner with a top-notch organization like Dynamix. This partnership will reap huge dividends for our students, staff, and community as a whole for years to come. Having the ability to pull something like this off at no cost to our taxpayers coupled with our ability to bring local vendors into the fold equals a win, win, for Wauseon.”
Dynamix Energy Services, Wauseon’s partner for the project, is a full-service Energy Services Company that focuses on implementing and installing creative, well-engineered energy solutions that exceed market savings goals. Dynamix Energy Services is one of eight award-winning member companies in the Veregy portfolio of energy service companies, which has 31 years of industry experience and has delivered $1.7B in energy savings projects. Energy conservation projects may include building automation systems, fine-tuning & retro-commissioning, HVAC efficiency upgrades, LED lighting & controls, building envelope, renewable energy, and more. Notably, Dynamix Energy Services was recognized as one of the AEP’s top producers in the category of Highest kWh Savings 2019, achieving an estimated 1,714,989.52 kWh savings for its clients. The Dynamix Team has experience delivering seamless, sustainable, energy efficiency solutions to K-12 schools across the State of Ohio. The firm has partnered with Groveport Madison Schools, Reynoldsburg City Schools, Fairfield Union Local Schools, among others to make similar facility improvements and generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in cost-savings annually.
Wauseon and Dynamix are also committed to supporting the local community by utilizing local contractors/vendors throughout the project including Krauss-Lane Electric and Earl Mechanical Services. The project team will be working around Wauseon’s academic schedule, maintaining health and safety as a top priority, estimating a completion period of 45 weeks.