Sarasota County School District

Overview

The Sarasota School District, located in South Florida, puts a strong emphasis on reducing its ecological footprint, consumption of resources and operating costs. As a result, the district undertook an air-conditioning upgrade across its campuses that would help meet sustainability goals. What began as a single air-conditioning installation using thermal energy storage in 1992 has rapidly expanded. Over 20 years later, thermal energy storage has been installed into 36 of the district’s schools.

Challenge: Finding a Long-term Sustainable Solution  

To truly meet set goals, the air-conditioning upgrades within the Sarasota School District would need to take into account their long-term impact on the environment. The district needed to find the right balance between return on investment, longevity and sustainability. Solutions that could quickly become outdated or required high levels of maintenance to keep viable were eliminated from consideration.

Solution

A chiller plant with thermal energy storage was chosen to meet the school district’s needs. The durable nature of CALMAC’s IceBank energy storage product provided a sustainable, proven solution that would not be outdated in a couple years and requires minimal maintenance. The IceBank® tanks are made up of 99 percent recyclable or reusable material, eliminating contributions to growing landfills. The energy storage tanks are also able to create and store cooling in the form of ice at night when electricity is produced and transmitted most efficiently. The next day the stored cooling is used for cooling during peak demand periods, when the most inefficient power plants turn on.

Results

Sarasota’s Brookside Middle School was the first facility within the district to implement thermal energy storage, but after using the tanks for nearly ten years, the structure was torn down and replaced with a brand new building. Instead of purchasing new tanks, CALMAC refurbished the previous school’s tanks for insertion into the design of the new facility. This enabled the school district to reuse their equipment and therefore reduce the environmental impact of disposing old equipment and manufacturing new equipment. The thermal energy storage tanks have a life span of over 30-years, triple that of traditional rooftop air-conditioning units.

“It is important for schools to follow the lead of districts like Sarasota Country and take the necessary steps towards a more sustainable future,” said Mark MacCracken, CEO of CALMAC. “This impressive installation of energy storage technology is a great example for other school districts in the country that should be preparing to reduce peak electricity demands and meet more sustainable goals.”

Due to its proven effectiveness, 36 schools within the Sarasota School District are now utilizing energy storage. The school district saw the reusability of the tanks to be extremely important during times of new construction and retrofits. The process of installing CALMAC’s tanks was easy for the school district and it showed their commitment to selecting more sustainable solutions. This solution not only set a positive example for the rest of the community, but its leading the school district to impressive cost savings.

The school district’s approach to sustainability has not gone unnoticed. Three of the schools, Atwater Elementary, Pine View School and Riverview High School, earned the Energy Star Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for operating in the top 25 percent of schools across the U.S. in responsible energy use. In 2013 alone, the Sarasota County School District was able to save over $2 million in energy costs due to the use of thermal energy storage.

The latest energy storage installation at the school district went into use at the beginning of the 2014 school year at Oak Park School. With this newest addition, the district is now able to achieve a total of 20MW of energy storage. This is enough energy to cool the equivalent of 4 skyscrapers.

“We really believe in CALMAC’s solution, which is why over 80 percent of the district utilizes thermal energy storage," said Cecil Peel, Sarasota schools manager of technical services.

“Any time we remodel a school we are able to save our tanks and reuse them,” said Cecil Peel, Sarasota schools manager of technical services. “We really believe in CALMAC’s solution, which is why over 80 percent of the district utilizes thermal energy storage. The school boards have been extremely pleased with the performance of CALMAC's IceBank tanks, and so it was logical that we would implement it into our latest energy upgrade at Oak Park School. Even small installations are paying more than $100,000 in rebates. This money can go towards other sustainability projects and increase the amount of funds available for our students’ education.”

“We share the sustainable goals of our customers and work smart to engineer a product that can outlast you and me. We’re extremely proud of our IceBank tanks,” said Mark. “Needs change, structures get replaced and retrofitted, but the modular, reusable design of our energy storage tanks allow them to fit seamlessly into the sustainability goals of new or existing commercial structures.”

Summary

As replacement chiller plants are needed, CALMAC’s reusable energy storage tank becomes the ideal product to implement into the school districts’ facilities. Air-conditioning upgrades with thermal energy storage keep students and staff members comfortably cool during hot days. Plus the proven effectiveness of this solution are important to the county and community for creating a more sustainable future. As a result of implementing CALMAC’s solution, Sarasota School District is now playing an integral role in helping their county meet their sustainability goals.