When Tuscaloosa County developed its HVAC wish list for their high school’s new addition, it looked something like this: Reliability, energy savings, installation ease, sufficient ventilation, quiet operation and aesthetics.
A tough call when faced with the typical budget restraints facing school districts around the country.
The Tuscaloosa County School System’s architect and engineer turned to a combination of Bard 12 SEER “Quiet Climate” wall-mounts and Q-Tec heat pumps, which resulted in comfortable students, an optimized learning environment and satisfied administrators.
Q-Tecs and Quiet Climate
Q-Tecs were installed inside those classrooms facing the front of the building to enhance the clean, finished look that the architect required. “Quiet Climate” wall-mounts were installed in all other areas of the building.
Both models provided the Bard advantage that the school system was looking for when they specified individual room control. Each classroom has its own Bard unit with a built-in ventilation package, which provides each classroom with the specific climate control and outside air it requires, not what’s being determined by a central system.
Along with comfort, the Q-Tec and the “Quiet Climate” units provided the additional benefit of low operating sound levels. Both units were specifically designed so teachers would not have to compete with the mechanical sounds often generated by other climate control systems.
Maximizing the savings
According to Dr. Frank Costanzo, Assistant Superintendent, “We’re very pleased with the performance of the Bard units on this project. Bard was selected for individual room control, energy efficiency – 12 SEER, and quietness of the units.”
The school district was especially pleased with Bard’s ability to maximize the savings during the installation process and on-going operations. Installation ease and the fact that the units would not have to be ducted help bring the project’s mechanical costs within budget. Specifying the high efficiency 12 SEER design insured that energy savings would be generated on the operations side for years to come.
