Education
Santee High School Proposition 39 HVAC & Controls Retrofit
Pneumatic-to-DDC and HVAC retrofit under Proposition 39.
Client
McKinstry Essention
Location
Los Angeles, CA
Service Line
A BACnet open-protocol controls retrofit at a DOE Better Buildings showcase campus — five buildings, design-build with McKinstry.
Client: McKinstry (LAUSD Energy Manager)
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Year: 2017
Service Line: Design-Build — HVAC & Building Automation
Santee Education Complex opened in July 2005 as the first new four-year high school LAUSD had built in more than 35 years, put up to pull students off an overcrowded Jefferson High in South Los Angeles. Today it runs more than 1,800 students across a 361,668-square-foot campus, and sits among the heaviest energy users in the district. McKinstry, LAUSD’s energy manager, picked Athena as the HVAC and building automation design-build partner for the Proposition 39 retrofit.
We upgraded the control systems in five of the campus buildings, moving them onto a new BACnet open-protocol DDC system — no proprietary lock-in, so the district can service and grow it on its own terms. We added VFD controls and new inverter-duty motors to all the existing water pumps to pull down pump energy.
On the mechanical side, we replaced the packaged units serving the boys’ and girls’ locker rooms with new units running evaporative cooling and gas-fired heating, then tied them into the new building automation system. Another set of locker rooms had its standard domestic water heater swapped for gas-fired tankless condensing units. We also replaced a long run of light fixtures with high-efficiency models.
On partial post-completion data, Santee was tracking to roughly 30% annual energy savings and about $195,000 a year in reduced cost.
The campus became a U.S. Department of Energy Better Buildings Challenge Showcase Project. On partial post-completion data, Santee was tracking to roughly 30% annual energy savings and about $195,000 a year in reduced cost.
It was the second LAUSD Prop 39 retrofit Athena delivered on this platform, after the John Marshall High School Prop 39 Controls Replacement.
Client / Energy Manager: McKinstry. Owner: Los Angeles Unified School District. Funding: Proposition 39 (California Clean Energy Jobs Act). Recognition: U.S. DOE Better Buildings Challenge Showcase Project.
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