Argos Community Schools
It all began with a desire by school Maintenance Director Brad Carter to do a lighting retrofit in the school’s two gymnasiums. He felt the move would save the school system money, but he didn’t have proper data to support his belief and couldn’t convince leadership to approve his plan.
DownloadThe Problem: Peak problems
Carter saw a daily spike in usage from 8:45-10:15 a.m., which projected an unusually high electricity rate on the school’s monthly utility bill. He suspected there were multiple causes for this spike, but his calculations were based on common sense and guesswork. Carter needed the ability to analyze real-time data and trends.
The Solution: Load Profiler
Carter looked to Argos Utilities who, teaming with the Indiana Municipal Power Authority, sought help from Automated Energy, Inc., to provide answers. Once Automated Energy installed Load Profiler, the real-time data confirmed Carter’s theories. By analyzing usage levels, he realized he needed to stagger HVAC start-ups to lower peak morning hours.
Carter also discovered that the main culprit in the spike was that all the light switches in two gyms were being turned on at the same time daily. The Load Profiler showed that by turning on half the lights, waiting 15-minutes, and then turning on the other half of the lights each day eliminated the spike and provided more realistic energy rates.
“The Load Profiler data not only allowed us to determine the problem,” said Carter, “but also to directly verify our savings.”
The Results: Argos goes retro
Which brings us back to the lighting retrofit. With Load Profiler data to back him up, Carter was able to convince his leadership and initiate the retrofit. Originally proposed for the school system’s two gymnasiums, the retrofit was implemented in both gymnasiums and in all classrooms, providing a more well-lit environment and energy savings.
Shedding a light
With Load Profiler tracking results, the retrofit resulted in a reduction from 100,200 kWh to 90,167 kWh or roughly $250 cash savings per month. And what Carter predicted to be a 3.5-year retrofit payback is now scheduled to payback in 1.5 years.
“We were able to give them the ability to look at their data in real time, using Load Profiler,” said Automated Energy President Cody Graves. “Then you can make good decisions and smooth out those peaks.”
Peak performance
What about the peak load that was inflating Argos’ electric bill? By staggering HVAC start- ups and light usage, the school district reduced their peak load and shaved another $430 from their monthly bill. Now that’s information turned into action.
Profiling
Load Profiler and its online analytical data proved to be a catalyst for efficiency improvements and an effective tool to measure performance. Through peak shedding and a complete light retrofit, Carter’s Argos Community Schools electric bill is almost $700 less a month. And that can buy lots of No. 2 pencils.
AEI has solutions for municipal and investor-owned utilities, as well as commercial property owners interested in managing peak usage and energy rates in a variety of settings.