SYSTEMS INSTALLED
- Trane Unit Ventilators
- Tracer Summit building automation network
- Trane Air-Cooled chillers
Waterloo Community Schools has an enrollment of
approximately 10,000 students and encompasses 13
elementary schools, four middle school and three high
schools.
Like many school districts, Waterloo’s school buildings
range in age from two to nearly 90 years. Similarly, many
of heating and ventilating units throughout the district
needed replacement—many were more than 30 years
old. Many building control systems were based on
pneumatic controls which had become unreliable.
Marty Metcalf, director of operational services for the
district said, “Many of the units were flat worn out. They
no longer provided ventilation at all.” The district also
needed to achieve and document classroom ventilation
levels as specified by ASHRAE Standard 62-89.
Metcalf and Waterloo Community Schools worked with
Trane’s Des Moines sales office to develop a plan to
upgrade the two oldest schools in the district. Trane
Sales Engineer Ron Engelhardt said, “Older unit
ventilators just don’t have the capabilities for metered
ventilation or for accurate control. Usually the
best solution is to replace them with new
equipment and to overlay the system with a
modern digital control system.”
The two schools were equipped with new
Trane unit ventilators tied into the district’s
existing Trane Tracer Summit™ control
system.
In addition, old centrifugal chillers at several
schools were replaced with new Trane Model
RTAA air-cooled chillers. Not only are the new
chillers more reliable and efficient, but the
need for frequent cooling tower maintenance
is eliminated.
Metcalf says of the control system upgrades,
“When we have questions about conditions in
any of the classrooms with the new unit
ventilators and controls, we can check them on
the Tracer Summit system instantly. That
saves a lot of time and travel. Now we have
complete documentation of temperatures and
ventilation rates for each classroom.”
From integrated comfort systems to systems
management and climate controls, Trane
ensures your building environment is right so
you can run your business better.
The Waterloo Community School District includes the cities of Waterloo, Evansdale, Elk Run Heights,
Gilbertville, and Raymond, part of the city of Cedar Falls, and certain unincorporated areas in Black Hawk
County. The District is located entirely within Black Hawk County and encompasses approximately 150
square miles. Waterloo is the fifth largest school district of Iowa’s 377 public school systems.