Energy efficiency at heart of projects being completed this summer

 

During spring break, Red Hook High School looked like “a war zone,” said Scott Rajczi, the director of facilities and operations. 

“The ceiling was down. The whole cafeteria was taken apart,” he said. “It was a hectic stretch of preparation.” 

That chaos will soon pay off, as the district is completing the major HVAC renovations at the high school this summer. 

It’s one of several projects expected to be finished by the start of school in September which will improve energy efficiency throughout the district, including the completion of its window-replacement process and the long-awaited implementation of solar power at each building. 

Rajczi said that most of the projects are aimed to reduce energy waste by applying green strategies to existing practices. 

Much of the work was funded as part of the $22 million capital project approved in 2022. 

The solar project, which is estimated to save the district around $90,000 in energy costs, was approved in 2019, but experienced delays due to the pandemic. Each school is producing energy through solar panels installed last summer. Each building’s lobby will have a screen displaying how much power is being created by the panels. 

The high school HVAC project has been a long process of installing infrastructure, including enormous tanks for holding ice behind the building and glycol lines installed in ceilings throughout the school. 

Rajczi called the cooling process unique. “It’s going to make ice at night, off-demand when electricity use is low, and the sun is down. The system will then draw from the ice through the course of the day to create cold air.” 

HVAC units have also been installed that include energy wheels, which preheat or precool air as it is being reclaimed and subsequently save an estimated 10-12% on energy use. And, with the new units in, portable air conditioner units will be removed from classrooms where they were installed as a temporary solution. 

Many of the doors and windows are also being replaced, which will likewise reduce the amount of heat or cool lost in each room, and new ventilation hoods in the kitchen will reduce energy use. 

Mill Road Elementary is also in the process of a building-wide replacement of its windows to improve efficiency, a process that began in the spring. 

Other construction projects this summer:

The gymnasium floor at Linden Avenue Middle School is being renovated to fix damaged areas, include new painted lines and remove floor box outlets. Folding divider walls were also removed.

“The whole thing has a fresh new look,” Rajczi said.

A sidewalk behind Mill Road is being paved.

There are also smaller projects happening at the high school, with fixes to some hallway tiles underway and improvements to the lobby and area outside the main entrance.