Life Safety/HVAC Upgrades

Lueder Construction has been proceeding with the construction to complete the life safety, building security and HVAC upgrades At Peter Sarpy Elementary.  Life safety and security considerations that will be taken care of include the installation of a fire sprinkler system throughout the building and inclusion of a new security entrance vestibule at the main building entrance.  The HVAC renovations within the building involves the complete replacement of the existing HVAC system throughout the building.

The existing building heating and cooling system consists of a steam boiler system and a central chiller unit.  The District decided to analyze the planned expenses on the existing building system to determine the best solution on moving forward on upgrading the HVAC system in the building.  A study was completed by Advanced Engineering Systems, who is the HVAC engineer for the project.  With the age and condition of existing building systems as well as the inefficiencies of the existing building systems, the HVAC engineer concluded as part of the study that an alternative HVAC solution to the existing system may be a better direction to go.  Based on the study of the building, it was determined that a variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system would prove to be a more cost effective and efficient solution to operate the building.  This solution would also provide more individual control in the building for the building occupants.  It was determined by the Board that the existing mechanical system will be replaced with a new variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system using the bond money allocated as part of the project and then supplementing the remainder of the system upgrade costs with funds from the District Building and Site fund after review of the costs that were received on the project.

Lighting
Also as part of the project, it is planned that all existing lighting in the building will be replaced by new energy efficient LED lighting. This being the first building in the District to fully utilize LED lighting, it will be used as a model to measure total energy consumption reduction.  The installation of the new LED lighting will also be eligible for energy rebates from OPPD for making the building more energy efficient

Initial construction schedules pointed to the possibility of work extending into possibly mid-October of 2018 which would have required extensive coordination with school personnel to complete work within the building with ongoing school operations.  Based on contractor input, the Contractor is now working on a schedule where renovation in most of the classroom areas could possibly be completed in early August with overall completion possibly occurring in early September 2018