David Spurrier of Ameresco recently updated the Loudon County School Board on the energy performance contract between his company and the school system. 

The board has an agreement with the company to update and maintain the HVAC, lights and power in the schools to save energy. The contract cost the school system approximately $4 million and is supposed to save the system at least that much in energy costs. The goal is to have the system's power needs paid for with the savings from the Ameresco deal. 

Spurrier told the board the energy savings program was working "as expected and that's a great thing." He said the 15-year contract with the school system was on tract and the contract "should insure savings will continue to fund the payments." 

Board member Leroy Tate said there has been a problem with one of the heat pumps at Loudon High School on a weekend during the recent cold snap. Tate said the temperature in the building was so low it caused condensation which was caused the pump to burn out and the school to be cold. 

Tate explained the temperature settings for the schools was set in a company office in Kentucky and though the temperature could be changed by school officials from a computer, someone has to come to the school to reset the system. 

Speaking after the meeting, County Purchasing Agent Leo Bradshaw explained what happened. 

"When there is a power outage there is an automatic shut off that shuts off all gas to the system," he said, adding that the shut of is a safety measure required by the fire marshal.  Once the power comes on the temperature will not reset itself. Bradshaw said Interstate Mechanical, the company that does the maintenance on the system, must manually restart all the units. 

"It's happened one time," Bradsahw said adding there is a solution in the works. "We're looking for a system to install -  an alarm system -  so "when that happens it will actually ring into Interstate office so they can send some one to start it up rather than waiting for Monday morning." 

"We've got to get a handle on this or it will cost us a ton of money," Tate warned the board. Spurrier told the board he would look into the situation and report back.  

Overall, Bradshaw said he thinks it's too soon to know if the Ameresco contract is saving money for the county schools. "It's so hard to tell. There has been a reduction in energy usage and utility bills but there's been some offset for service, parts - there are so many variables that go into play. It takes a longer history," he said.