Oct 30 2007
When building a new facility for Hampshire High School's 2,500 students, administrators chose an innovative ice storage system in order to:
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Create high performance classrooms that optimize students' learning environment, increase faculty retention and actually improve student test scores
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Reduce energy consumption, benefiting the school, community and environment
Trane's ice storage system offered the best option to achieve these goals. The engineering firm for the project, Metro Design Associates, performed a system life-cycle cost analysis that showed the district will save more than $1 million over the life of the system. That number is based on current energy rates. If energy rates rise, so will the savings. At the current rate, the district will receive a full return on its investment in the ice storage system in less than three years.
The heart of the ice storage system is a dual-temperature Trane chiller. The chiller operates in standard cooling mode during the day and in ice-making mode at night. The ice is stored in tanks and used to provide cooling to the building the next day during peak hours. This solution actually improves the reliability of the power grid by shifting peak cooling loads to off-peak hours. Off-peak electricity is less expensive and, because the most efficient power plants run during off-peak hours, there are substantial environmental benefits as well.
In addition to energy conservation, indoor air quality was a high priority when choosing the school's heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system. Energy recovery modules (part of Trane's M-series climate changers) will keep energy consumption low, while allowing better indoor air quality with high ventilation rates, improving the school's environment for students, faculty and staff.
Trane has provided HVAC systems and solutions to education customers for more than 50 years - enhancing their environments through improved indoor air quality, humidity control, acoustics and energy-efficiency performance. Trane has supplied more HVAC products, systems and services to schools than any other manufacturer.
Trane has been serving customers in Illinois for 60 years, with one sales office, four AfterMarket Supply parts centers and one service center. Trane Chicago has 153 associates serving the needs of education, healthcare, government, manufacturing, lodging and retail, and other businesses in Illinois.
Trane, the Air Conditioning Systems and Services business of American Standard Companies Inc, is a leading global provider of indoor comfort systems and comprehensive facility solutions. On Feb.1, American Standard Companies announced plans to separate its three businesses. Since then, the company completed the spinoff of its Vehicle Control Systems business as an independent company known as WABCO. The company also agreed to sell its Bath and Kitchen business to funds advised by Bain Capital Partners, LLC, and expects to complete the sale on or about Oct. 31. To reflect its focus on the Air Conditioning Systems and Services business, the company plans to change its name to Trane by the end of the year. In 2006, Air Conditioning Systems and Services, sold under the Trane(R) and American Standard(R) brands, generated revenues of $6.8 billion with 29,000 employees. For more information, visit the Trane Web site at http://www.trane.com or the American Standard Web site at http://www.americanstandard.com.