February 07, 2019
Mineola Public Schools: A Root-Cause Solution to Long-Term Problems
Although Mineola Public Schools completed two Energy Performance Projects (EPCs), the district had not succeeded in solving key problems. Students and teachers continued to complain about overheating, opening windows even on the coldest days to achieve comfortable classrooms. And maintenance costs were skyrocketing because of the burden of taking care of aging steam systems.
Today, thanks to strong collaboration and a value-driven approach, Mineola, with its partners at Ecosystem Energy Services and ECG, is on the path to solving these issues. Construction is about to begin on a Phase 3 EPC project that includes district-wide elimination of steam heating and key asset renewal. This EPC represents the first time that an EPC including steam to hot water (STHW) conversion has achieved New York SED approval.
“We chose Ecosystem because they think differently. No other company proposed STHW conversion, and this is our third-phase EPC,” said Jack Waters, Mineola’s assistant superintendent. “That is exactly what we needed.”
The collaborative efforts of ECG and Ecosystem, coupled with their mutual expertise in delivering smooth and on-target projects, were key to achieving SED approval. School districts across the state have been interested in the possibility of achieving such a fundament upgrade to their facilities but have been wary of including the measure in EPCs, partly because it had never been approved by the SED. Mineola, named one of the 25 most innovative districts in the country for its commitment to education, is also an innovator when it comes to its educational facilities.
The Mineola project is expected to begin construction in April 2019.
Interested in learning more about the Mineola project or about how Ecosystem can help your district achieve similar goals? Contact Ahmed Ibrahim, Director of Business: aibrahim@ecosystem-energy.com 917.647.5754
