Issues

With 23 schools and more than 18,000 students in those schools, the Charlotte County (Florida) Public School District is always looking for ways to maximize the investment in its students. As part of that goal, an analysis of various methods of energy conservation and operating expense reduction were investigated, according to Rick Sechrist, the energy manager and educator of the district's Maintenance & Operations Department.

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Solution

That analysis and discussions with Florida Power and Light, the local electrical utility, identified significant energy savings if the district could avoid running their chillers during peak demand times. Further analysis showed the largest savings could be achieved with an air cooled chiller used as a "swing" chiller to shave demand by creating ice at night.

A 265-ton Daikin Pathfinder air cooled chiller, premium efficiency model, was chosen for the ice making duty based on its industry leading efficiency, quiet operation and proven reliability in other installations in the state of Florida. The ice storage system was designed and provided by FAFCO.

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Outcome

The ice storage system and chiller installed at the Carmalita chiller plant produced a shift of an estimated 614.3 tons of cooling electrical demand on the worst (hottest, most humid) day of the year. That demand shift earned an incentive from Florida Power and Light of more than $294,000.

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