A Commitment to Energy Efficiency and Learning Excellence
Nestled in the scenic town of Nashville, Indiana, Brown County Schools serves approximately 1,800 students across five schools. Dedicated to providing a safe and comfortable learning environment, the district recognized the need to upgrade aging infrastructure to enhance energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and the learning environment. Embarking on a multi-phase performance contract, the district implemented significant improvements to ensure optimal conditions for both students and staff.
The first phases of the project, which focused on Helmsburg and Sprunica Elementary Schools, were completed in 2020. They addressed critical HVAC system upgrades and included a roof replacement at the middle school.
The district continued with more projects to improve energy efficiency at Brown County High School, including updates to the locker room and public restrooms. Another part of the project focused on renovations to expand Eagle Manufacturing, the district’s program to educate students in technical real-world skills. The district needed to accommodate the growing interest in career and technical education. To do so, the district partnered with Performance Services to convert six classrooms in the Educational Resource Center to create a new space for Eagle Manufacturing. The conversion included all new mechanical upgrades, as well as reconfigurations to create an open-concept industrial lab. This achieved their goal of allowing more students to be involved, creating a central location for the whole program. With a central location, the advisors now have better visibility to oversee student activities, provide more instruction, and encourage collaboration.
Lastly, the final piece of the project included relocating the office at the middle school to create a secure entrance to enhance student safety. It was also designed to better accommodate ADA accessibility.
These comprehensive upgrades modernized the district’s facilities and resulted in substantial energy savings, with an annual guaranteed savings of $1,090,991 across phases I-IV.
Project Highlights
- Roof replacement with a new 24-gauge standing seam metal roof system at the Middle School
- Install new window wall system, replacing original single pane windows
- New domestic hot water heaters at Helmsburg Elementary School
- Install a new air-cooled chiller at Sprunica and Helmsburg Elementary Schools
- Replace dual temperature water pumps at Helmsburg, Sprunica, and the High School
- Install a new high-efficiency boiler at the High School to improve humidity control of interior spaces
- New rooftop units and air handling units
- LED lighting at Sprunica, Helmsburg, and High School
- Replace exhaust fans at all schools
- Install VFDs on relief and air-handling fan motors
- New horizontal unit vent in the kitchen
- Install new fan-powered relief
- Repair the High School locker room
- Modify the restrooms to be ADA-compliant
- Modify the shower area to include individual shower stalls
- Create additional storage and add two ADA-compliant bottle fillers
- Complete HVAC replacement at the middle school
- Relocate the middle school office to create a secure entrance with ADA accessibility
- Install a new visitor parking lot for the new office entrance at the middle school
- Create a new space for the Eagle Manufacturing program
- Full renovation of the six classrooms in the Educational Resource Center
- Removed existing classroom walls to create an open-concept industrial lab
- New mechanical upgrades: LED lighting, HVAC, and electrical to handle added equipment load
- New epoxy flooring throughout the entire space – creating a cohesive look and feel
- Added office space for advisors and students
- Enlarged shipping and receiving area – promotes efficiency for current business and room for future growth
- Opened up corridor walls, adding interior windows to give staff complete visibility of space to provide instruction
