CASE STUDY
Texico
Municipal Schools
The small town of Texico, New Mexico, sitting on the Texas-New Mexico border, boasts one 20-acre campus that contains its Pre-K, elementary, middle and high schools.
Texico Municipal Schools (TMS) is the first school district in New Mexico to complete a Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) under the State of New Mexicoʼs revitalized program. TMS engaged with Yearout Energy to develop and implement a ESPC project that would fund essential improvements through a combination of energy and operational savings, utility rebates, and other available funding sources. TMSʼs $2.1 million energy efficiency upgrade was completed by Yearout Energy in approximately 8 months wrapping up in mid 2019.
Energy Savings Performance Contracting (ESPC)
is a budget-neutral approach to make building improvements that reduce energy and water use and increase operational efficiency. By partnering with an energy service company (ESCO), a facility owner can use an ESPC to pay for today’s facility upgrades with tomorrow’s guaranteed energy savings—without tapping into capital budgets.
Yearout Energy’s Scope of Upgrades
Replacing failing equipment, enhancing site safety and security, and reducing ongoing operational costs were priorities for the district. However, a significant driving force behind the project was improving the learning environment in New Mexicoʼs extreme seasonal temperatures.
“Teachers reported that students have difficulty learning in hot classrooms. Swamp (evaporative) coolers don’t effectively cool when it’s really hot outside and their noisy operations interfere with instruction.”
Greg Lucero
Project Manager for the TMS Project
Improvements
The project began with an electrical service overhaul to accommodate the new expanded HVAC system and improve building safety. Prior to the project, TMS teachers had to turn electrical breakers on and off to control the cooling units which was a safety concern for the district. Yearout Energy worked with a local utility company to coordinate the overhaul.
Other upgrades included:
- Over 1,800 fixtures replaced with LED and enhanced lighting controls in classrooms
- 54 single-pane windows replaced with double-pane, intruder-resistant windows
- 66 evaporative coolers replaced with new high-efficiency heat pumps
- New web-accessible HVAC controls allowing remote access and control of HVAC systems
- Air purification devices that work to mitigate pathogens
- Remediated 33ft² of existing air leakage in building envelope
Exceeding Ambitious Savings and Reducing Carbon Footprint
Yearout Energy secured $80,000 on behalf of the district in rebates from TMSʼs utility providers. The ESPC project expected utility savings of $17,590 in the first year, but the school district actually experienced $21,459 in verified utility savings (22% more than was projected). An additional $4,738 was saved on operations and maintenance costs, for a total savings of $26,198. Over the following two years, Yearout Energyʼs guaranteed utility savings exceeded projections by 27.4%.
In addition to significant financial savings, all upgrades combined resulted in more than a 1.2 million-pound reduction in annual carbon dioxide emissions roughly equivalent to planting 170 acres of trees.
Robert brown,
Superintendent of TMS, expressed his satisfaction with the project’s outcomes,
“We are pleased to be the first school district in New Mexico to take these steps to reduce our energy consumption, therefore being more fiscally responsible for our community. The rebates and savings represent a major investment in our students and our facilities which will make an impact for decades to come.”
This impact on the future is a matter of pride for Yearout Energy, as well. “Itʼs always great when we get to work with public schools. School staff is always so friendly and helpful. And we know weʼre making the school better for the kids and teachers, which makes a difference for the future,” said Yearout Energy Project Manager, Greg Lucero.
