Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) is a school district that serves 80,000+ students in the city of Nashville, Tennessee and Davidson County and has a staff of 10,500 professionals. SitelogIQ (SIQ) has been working with MNPS for over 5 years on various energy efficiency measures such as smart LED lighting and various networked controls for HVAC systems. In addition to energy savings, these projects have been focused on maximizing student and employee comfort and safety.
Armed with proof that the energy efficiency measures were yielding positive results for the district, the partnership grew in the fall of 2019. This included an energy observation program with SIQ’s experts focused on bringing together data-driven technology and energy management intelligence to the forefront of facility optimization.
Energy Management Implementation
Site visits were conducted, which revealed aging infrastructure. With 157 buildings, many types of equipment and control systems exist with varying manufacturers, making it difficult to identify and track anticipated useful life. Further, it was determined that the district operates on a fraction of the required budget for a district of its magnitude, resulting in reduced capital funding for energy upgrades and maintenance. To date, the SIQ team has taken the following actions to spur on program progression.
The Outcome
Over $450,000 was awarded to the District through the local utility School Uplift Program with SIQ’s support and guidance. With SIQ’s suggestion procedures, the District saved >$9.5M and lowered their energy consumption by 26% during the first year of pandemic school closures. SIQ also helped resolve 2 underground water leaks at 2 high school, resulting in average monthly savings of $130,000 and monthly water savings amounting to 16 Olympic sized pools.
From April – November 2019, MNPS experienced 8.5M kWh energy reduction and $900K in avoided costs, and in the last 4.5 years, have experienced 20% average energy reduction. Through this program and partnership with SIQ, MNPS’ net savings total to $14.7M, from July 2019 through April 2023.
Ongoing Partnerships
SIQ still is currently working to expand MNPS’ Energy Champion Program to include at least 75% of the district’s school buildings involved by the spring of 2024. In addition, the team is also becoming more involved in classroom lessons and school clubs through the Go Green Challenge as well as coordination with other programs such as STEAM to continue to educate students about energy efficiency, conservation, and sustainability.
SitelogIQ is a valuable, critical industry partner. With their guidance and support, we have successfully reduced our utility expenses by over $10 million dollars and lowered our energy intensity utilization by more than 20%. They have exceeded their guaranteed savings earlier than expected and continue to improve our bottom line.
– David Proffitt, MNPS Executive Director of Facilities, Maintenance, and Construction