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To counter that, Hurst-Rosche Engineers specified water-source heat pumps for the terminal units and designed the main piping-system supply point as the center of the loop, segmenting the building into quarters over both the first and second floors. This helps minimize temperature cascade and allows the system to maintain maximum heating and cooling to the most distant points in the building.

The installing contractor, Custom Mechanical LLC of Troy, Ill., also was new to the LoadMatch system.

“Once we got past the learning curve and became familiar with the system, there were no problems,” Marcus Frederick, president/owner of Custom Mechanical, said. “LoadMatch was easy to install and was quite a timesaver in terms of scheduling and manpower. One pipe really helps in terms of installation time. … Control and maintenance is a breeze.”

Custom Mechanical started the mechanical rough-in in March 2008, completed installation of the heating system in August 2008, and commissioned the cooling system in July 2009, after a rainy, cool spring.

Taco KS vertical inline pumps, along with Taco expansion tanks and a Taco 4900 Series air/dirt separator, support three Lochinvar Intelli-Fin gas-fired modulating condensing boilers in the heating-system mechanical room on the second floor. On the air-conditioning side, there is no central chiller, just Trane-supplied air handlers. Johnson Controls thermostats within the building are linked to the BAS. Temperature set points are maintained at 70°F during winter and 76°F during summer. In addition to the EMS, the school has keycard access and control, plus an Internet-based closed-circuit surveillance system to allow monitoring, reaction, and control from virtually anywhere on or off campus.

For greater energy efficiency, the school has a white roof composed of polyisobutylene materials. Also, it was built to be in compliance with the International Building Code's tougher seismic compliance standards. The school, which is an evacuation site for the local area, received a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant for the upgrade.

Information and photographs courtesy of Taco Inc.
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