Background
Driven by a commitment to reduce energy consumption, lower utility expenses, support the diverse learning needs of their students, and empower teachers with greater control over their classroom environments, the District set out to upgrade their lighting fixtures as a first step in achieving their goal.
Eden Prairie Schools, located in the Twin Cities Metro area of Minnesota, serves over 8,900 students across 10 school buildings. In May 2023, the District partnered with SitelogIQ to address the need to improve their lighting across their facilities.
“We have been very pleased with SitelogIQ. Throughout the project their team has been effective communicators, responsive, and professional.”
Kyle Fisher, Eden Prairie School District’s Director of Facilities, Safety and Grounds
Overview
The SitelogIQ team conducted an energy assessment to assist the District with their lighting upgrade project. Several additional opportunities to reduce water usage and improve the integrity of the building envelope were identified.
Utilizing SitelogIQ’s facility intelligence software, mySiteIQ, the District was able to take a holistic view of their facility assets while developing the energy efficiency scope.
Accessible reports, including critical information about building assets–their age, location, current condition–were readily accessible to District leadership and allowed them to properly plan, budget, and appropriately schedule for current and future projects.
With this comprehensive approach to K-12 facility improvements, SitelogIQ developed a project plan to tackle each upgrade across their 10 facilities. In addition, the SitelogIQ team identified and helped Eden Prairie Schools secure a utility rebate of $483,000 to help fund these energy conservation measures.
Meeting District Community Needs
LED was determined to be the best lighting solution for the District to help lower their energy usage, reduce carbon footprint, decrease maintenance needs, and save on utility costs while also staying ahead of Minnesota’s fluorescent lighting ban. Eden Prairie Schools was also able to address some of their deferred maintenance needs which also helped to reduce their operational spend. This included upgrading existing plumbing.
As a result of this work, Eden Prairie Schools is expected to save an average of $320,000 annually on their utility and maintenance spending over the next 20 years.
These measures reduced their carbon footprint considerably, equating to over 1,700 tons of equivalent CO2 avoided annually.
Their spaces now provide an improved learning environment for their students, model respectful use of natural resources, reduce the operational and maintenance burden on their staff, and remain ahead of state-level environmental requirements.
Their spaces now provide an improved learning environment for their students, model respectful use of natural resources, reduce the operational and maintenance burden on their staff, and remain ahead of state-level environmental requirements.
Tackling Jobsite Challenges
In order to minimize disruptions to the daily school schedules of students and staff, SitelogIQ planned to complete the majority of the work during the summer months. With their facilities totaling over 2 million square feet, it was paramount that the project team established ongoing communication with Eden Prairie Schools’ Facilities Director to confirm weekly schedules and tackle work with limited disruptions to their operations.
As the lighting retrofit began, the team found that some of the lighting wiring wasn’t up to code and went above and beyond to correct the issue. In total, SitelogIQ converted 34,000+ fluorescent lighting fixtures to LED technology, allowing for more robust controls such as occupancy sensors. Additional enhancements to Special Education spaces were implemented in the form of customizable color-tuning lighting fixtures.