March 2010 Product Solutions

March 1, 2010
New products/case studies, including: energy savings; modular power system; multipurpose tables; and an online product selector.

Energy savings

Rural school district learns lessons on cost, comfort and control

Situated about 25 miles east of Kansas City, the rural Grain Valley school district is one of the faster growing school districts in Missouri, with more than 3,400 students. As the school system has grown, so have its facilities, and the related energy and maintenance expenses.

When it was time to build a new middle school building, Sam Packham, the district's director of operations, realized the facility needed HVAC that could provide a higher level of control than its current mishmash of brands and units.

Concerned about energy costs draining the budget, Packham chose high-efficiency, Lennox premium rooftop units for the installation. Each of the units featured an Integrated Modular Controller (IMC), which allowed for optimal control of the equipment, as well as the easy installation of an energy-management system.

The energy savings so exceeded Packham's expectations that he had 150 Lennox rooftop units installed across the district. Since then, Grain Valley has saved about 25 percent in combined electric and natural gas energy costs.

“We were impressed,” says Packham. “The reduction in energy costs has been dramatic.”

The units' diagnostic features were of particular interest to the district's operations officials, who now have simplified diagnostics and troubleshooting with more than 200 preprogrammed control parameters.

“We installed the L Connection Network energy-management system ourselves, and Lennox walked us through the steps,” says Packham. “The process went smoothly, and they made it very easy for us. There also haven't been any hidden or unnecessary charges.”

Packham found that replacing the older equipment was affordable. “The ease of installation and strong performance in the middle school building made the decision to replace all our HVAC units an easy one.”

Select the March 2010 issue RSN number 163 on AS&U's Product Information site for more information.

Modular power system

Generac Power Systems. The Modular Power System (MPS) is a flexible backup power solution that offers scalability, redundancy and reliability. MPS gensets are small enough to fit into spaces that can't accommodate large units and are light enough for rooftop applications. The heart of the MPS is the PowerManager System Controller, which eliminates the need for expensive switchgear.

Select the March 2010 issue RSN number 160 on AS&U's Product Information site for more information.

Multipurpose tables

The HON Company. The new Huddle collection of multipurpose tables features smart design, flexibility and a choice of base, edge and finish options. They are easy to set up, rearrange and store when not in use. The collection offers nine rectangle-top work surface sizes, three base options (post leg, t-leg and flip-top for easy nesting), 16 standard laminate finishes, 15 edge colors, 10 base paint colors and three edge detail options. To allow for storage, the tables offer a nesting base. While nested, optional modesty panels drop down so the tables can be nested together without removing the panels.

Select the March 2010 issue RSN number 161 on AS&U's Product Information site for more information.

Online product selector

MovinCool. A new online product selector saves visitors to the website time and effort in deciding which air-conditioning equipment best fits their particular needs. The selector guides users through a series of easy-to-follow steps that result in the recommendation of the most appropriate MovinCool air conditioner and compatible accessories, along with the manufacturer's suggested list price for each piece of equipment.

Select the March 2010 issue RSN number 162 on AS&U's Product Information site for more information.

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