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Olentangy outlines energy-management savings, plans LED stadium-light upgrades and solar RFQ
Summary
District facilities staff reported multi-million-dollar energy savings since 2013, described demand-response payments and rising capacity charges, and recommended issuing an RFQ for solar proposals and replacing stadium lights with LED fixtures (Musco recommended) with an estimated $156,000 in annual savings and under a 10-year payback.
Jeff Gordon, the districts business management/facilities presenter, told the Olentangy Local Board of Education on March 10 that the districts energy-management program has delivered multi-million-dollar savings and that the district is preparing procurement steps for future projects.
Gordon said demand-response participation returned about $10,000 for the district and that, since 2020, the district has recorded about $7.4 million in electric and natural-gas savings; since the program began in 2013, Gordon said the total savings are "closer to 13 to $14,000,000." He described three bill components the district watches: demand, actual usage and capacity charges, and he noted that capacity charges have risen sharply in recent years.
On capital projects, Gordon said the district will issue an RFQ/RFP for solar proposals so multiple companies can present options and cost/payback scenarios rather than the district picking one vendor up front. He also presented a plan to replace stadium lights across multiple high schools with LED fixtures, noting that Musco met the districts specifications and offered a 25-year warranty. Gordon said the LED conversion is projected to save about $156,000 a year and would deliver a payback in less than 10 years.
Board members asked about operational details: metering, the effect of trailer classrooms on usage, and the role of building insulation and new energy codes in lowering heating/cooling losses. Gordon said newer buildings retain temperature better and that much of the energy-management work targets usage outside the student day to avoid affecting classroom comfort.
On procurement, Gordon described vetting Musco and a competing Olympia product, noting that the Musco bid met the specifications and was priced lower in the process; the facilities committee consulted an electrical engineer volunteer to review the alternatives and the committee recommended Musco as best value.
Gordon said the district is also replacing a chiller at Glen Oak and staging LED retrofits where payback and warranty terms make sense. The board did not take an immediate purchase vote on the LED lights during the presentation; the business-management items were later included in the superintendents consent slate that the board approved as a single motion.
Quotes in this article are taken verbatim from the meeting transcript and are attributed to meeting speakers as identified on the record.
