Texas ISD Teams with Schneider Electric on Energy Efficiency Project

By SCN Staff

LA VILLA, Texas – La Villa Independent School District (ISD) in Texas has announced the kickoff of a comprehensive energy efficiency project with energy and sustainability expert Schneider Electric. This project will improve performance of the district’s facilities, as well as air conditioning comfort and lighting in the learning environment and further reduce energy costs and carbon emissions. Once completed, the district will reduce utility expenditures by 30 percent, totaling more than $2,840,501 in guaranteed energy savings over the next 15 years.

In recent years, La Villa ISD has been challenged with increasing energy and operational costs due to aging infrastructure that was consuming increasing amounts of energy over time. Thanks to an energy efficiency project with Schneider Electric, La Villa ISD is now able to install modern LED lighting, building controls, and heating and air conditioning equipment throughout the district without being a financial burden for the community. This project is largely financed by the state Comptroller’s Texas LoanSTAR Revolving Loan Program. The district will be able to repay the low-interest loan from the energy cost savings realized by the project. La Villa ISD will save on energy and maintenance expenses annually over the life of the project, while simultaneously streamlining district operations and enhancing the student experience and classroom learning environment.

“Our mission is to help districts like La Villa ISD achieve their energy savings and sustainability goals, which provides superior learning environments for students and helps districts do their part for a more sustainable future,” said Tammy Fulop, Vice President of Energy and Sustainability Services at Schneider Electric. “We are proud to bring energy efficiency improvements to La Villa ISD.”

The latest project phase includes renovations that will be made to all of the district’s facilities to create an enhanced learning environment. Improvements include a variety of energy efficiency upgrades such as:

Enhancing indoor and outdoor lighting with LED technology; Replacing outdated heating and air conditioning equipment; Providing a comprehensive building automation system; Optimizing copier, projector, water cooler and vending machine equipment run time with Wi-Fi plug load controllers.

In addition to energy cost savings, the La Villa ISD project will have a sizable environmental impact on the local community. Once completed, the project will provide energy efficiency savings equivalent to removing 156 cars from the road, planting 866 new trees or removing 736 tons of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.