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District to pilot Trane/ComEd HVAC tune-ups at several schools aiming to cut electric costs
Summary
Staff proposed a limited Trane/ComEd tune-up pilot for six schools to tune HVAC and chiller systems; two initial buildings were quoted at $7,840 (Oak Park) and $8,820 (Dietrich) with estimated paybacks of about seven to nine months including ComEd incentives. Committee supported moving forward and staff will monitor billing cycles.
Staff outlined a pilot proposal with Trane, supported by ComEd incentives, to analyze and tune HVAC/chiller systems at selected schools with the goal of reducing electric usage and operating costs.
A staff member said Trane would analyze data from major chillers and HVAC equipment, make control adjustments and implement settings changes; the staff member cited cost estimates for two buildings: Oak Park at $7,840 with an estimated seven‑month payback and Dietrich at $8,820 with an estimated nine‑month payback. "For $7,000 spent for their work and tuning of the system, you recoup that money in about 6 to 8 months for those 2 buildings," the staff member said, noting ComEd incentives are part of the payback calculation.
Staff proposed beginning with a six‑school limited trial to monitor billing cycles and evaluate realized savings before expansion to other schools. Committee members supported the trial and asked staff to produce a monitoring plan (billing comparisons) and return with results later in the year.
Next steps: staff to engage with Trane/ComEd for the limited pilot, monitor energy bills and return with an update around September–October to show whether the projected paybacks are realized.
