In the summer of 2009, the Hudson Community School Board (Iowa) approved a major project upgrade, renovating the high school’s original DDC system with the expert help of their local Siemens Solution Partner.
Client Objective
The building’s original 12-year old HVAC system was barely functioning. Faulty and unpredictable, it not only created a less than desirable learning environment, but made troubleshooting of mechanical or controller problems very difficult—costing hundreds of thousands of dollars in wasted time and money over the years.
A Siemens Solution Partner with decades of experience in improving building performance was selected for the job. The project began in early July, with the need for completion by late August, before the return of the high school’s 286 students.
The Siemens Solution Partner proposed the open TALON with BACnet Building Automation System for the 60,000-sf facility, which contains 25 classrooms, a multipurpose room, media room, auditorium, and gymnasium. TALON with BACnet enables a smooth integration with other systems, creating more integration flexibility than other systems on the market.
The TALON system, created to improve every aspect of building automation, would provide the school with the best integration of today’s technology and keep it open for future technology and new products.
The Best Total Solution Approach
TALON seamlessly linked into the high school’s existing infrastructure, giving budget-conscious administrators an immediate appreciation for its cost effectiveness. Its integration power, open architecture, and BACnet software made the TALON system an investment that will continue to pay the school district back for years. Future system integration opportunities include HVAC, lighting, power, process, fire/life safety, and security/access control.
Since TALON makes the necessary connections between systems, it can link the entire district, managing buildings as a whole, not as disparate systems—all from a single workstation. The system can be monitored and controlled from any Web-enabled device, maximizing staff productivity and building performance and minimizing disruptions to events inside the facility.
Contact Info:
For more information, contact Phil Dlatt, 847-941-6033, phil.dlatt@siemens.com; www.usa.siemens.com/talon
Top Honors for High-Performing Control System
Following the completed work, Hudson High School now boasts a state-of-the-art, fully integrated building automation system that incorporates DDC for energy management, equipment monitoring, and control.
The improved control system at Hudson High School has successfully impacted the learning environment, the bottom line, and the buildings most important function: providing a comfortable learning environment for children and teachers.
Related Stories
| Oct 12, 2010
Owen Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Officials at Michigan State University’s East Lansing Campus were concerned that Owen Hall, a mid-20th-century residence facility, was no longer attracting much interest from its target audience, graduate and international students.
| Sep 30, 2010
Luxury hotels lead industry in green accommodations
Results from the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s 2010 Lodging Survey showed that luxury and upper-upscale hotels are most likely to feature green amenities and earn green certifications. Results were tallied from 8,800 respondents, for a very respectable 18% response rate. Questions focused on 14 green-related categories, including allergy-free rooms, water-saving programs, energy management systems, recycling programs, green certification, and green renovation.
| Aug 11, 2010
New air-conditioning design standard allows for increased air speed to cool building interiors
Building occupants, who may soon feel cooler from increased air movement, can thank a committee of building science specialists. The committee in charge of ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55 - Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy—after months of study and discussion--has voted recently to allow increased air speed as an option for cooling building interiors. In lay terms, increased air speed is the equivalent of turning up the fan.
| Aug 11, 2010
29 Great Solutions for the AEC Industry
AEC firms are hotbeds of invention and innovation to meet client needs in today's highly competitive environment. The editors of Building Design+Construction are pleased to present 29 "Great Solutions" to some of the most complex problems and issues facing Building Teams today. Our solutions cover eight key areas: Design, BIM + IT, Collaboration, Healthcare, Products, Technology, Business Management, and Green Building.
| Aug 11, 2010
Johnson Controls announces program to help customers reduce chiller energy costs by up to 40%
Johnson Controls Inc., the global multi-industrial leader in providing energy efficiency solutions, is launching a new program to help owners of YORK® centrifugal chillers reduce chiller energy use by up to 40 percent. The program encourages facility managers to install variable-speed drive (VSD) technologies and identifies rebates and other financial incentives to assist with the payback.
