Success Story
Rogue River School District 35, Rogue River, Oregon
351,000 ANNUAL KILOWATT HOURS SAVED, 30,000 ANNUAL THERMS SAVED, $48,900 ANNUAL ENERGY COST SAVINGS
The rumble of pipes was a sign that Rogue River Junior/Senior High School’s HVAC system was on its last legs. With the help of an Energy Trust of Oregon cash incentive of $164,100, the school made needed HVAC upgrades, saving energy and money in the process.
To maximize the incentive amount, Energy Trust identified qualifying equipment upgrades with the help of SOLARC Energy Group, an allied technical assistance contractor. The work involved retrofitting the site’s zonal pneumatic controls with direct digital controls, which converted the constant-flow hot water system to variable flow. The new system not only uses less energy, its advanced programming allows equipment to be scheduled for usage instead of manually turned on and off.
Now that the work is complete, the district is saving over $49,000 on their annual gas and electric bills—351,000 kWh and 30,000 therms annually.
“Programmable equipment saves time for our busy maintenance team and creates more consistently comfortable learning spaces for our students,” said Don Sweeney, district business manager. “Rumbling pipes are now a distant memory.”