The school year is just around the corner, but there are lots of projects you can start now that will have a big impact on how your students, parents and staff feel about your building.
Below is a list of building improvement and maintenance projects that can take you to the front of the class:
1. Schedule a controls inspection
Review your building automation set points and schedules. Often exceptions are made at the end of the year or over the summer that are never overwritten. A detailed inspection by a controls service technician can ensure your building is set to operate optimally.
2. Request a baseline HVAC inspection
Recommissioning of key equipment is one of the best ways to make sure that your system is performing the way it was designed. Trane HVAC professionals will not only inspect the equipment for anomalies or necessary repairs, but we can also identify your energy usage baseline and suggest strategies to make your system more efficient.
3. Add an energy dashboard
Visualizing your energy spend is critical to managing and reducing your overall energy intensity. Energy dashboards using data from your building controls system and energy meters are a reliable means to not only trending and analyzing your energy use, but uncovering optimization and energy reduction opportunities as well.
4. Conduct an IEQ Assessment
Trane can provide you with a detailed assessment of your overall Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) by reviewing your indoor air, lighting, acoustics and thermal comfort. We can make recommendations for in-room sensors, cleaning technologies, lighting upgrades and equipment updates to improve how your students and teachers perceive your space.
5. Consider a lighting upgrade
More than a “bright idea”—lighting upgrades are one of the most instantly visible ways to use federal funding for infrastructure updates. Networked lighting, integrated into your building controls can not only save you energy, but research also shows better lighting improves student performance!1
6. Build a rental contingency plan for backup cooling (or heating)
Weather is unpredictable—Trane can make sure that no matter the weather your building is prepared. Contingency planning helps identify your critical HVAC equipment and “puts a hold” on rental equipment in case something goes down.
7. Inspect, update or replace classroom unit ventilators
Fresh, conditioned air is critical to classroom comfort—but often unit ventilators serve as a drying rack for art projects, a bench for bouncy students and a dumping ground for backpacks—which can leave units dirty and damaged. A routine maintenance visit to inspect, clean and repair units can get you back in business.
8. Add remote inspections and service to your regular maintenance
Equipment data can tell us a lot about overall unit health and performance by monitoring key indicators like pressures, internal unit temperatures and ramp time. Trane Service professionals can proactively identify equipment that may be nearing failure points and, in some cases, make corrections without ever rolling a truck. When hands-on service is necessary, the data we capture remotely makes sure that we come prepared with what we need on the first trip.
9. Support your facilities staff with Tracer Ensemble Work Order Management and Tenant Services
The basketball coach wants to hold practice on Saturday. The math teacher’s room is too hot. There is a toilet not working on the third floor. Anytime, anywhere access to your building via a building management system gives your facilities staff the peace of mind they need to make sure that your building is in A+ shape.
10. Inventory and update your critical parts
When HVAC equipment goes down, you need a ready inventory of the critical parts and supplies to get it back up and running quickly. Reviewing the status of your filters and belts on key HVAC units and ordering backup inventory now is an easy way to avoid supply chain delays down the road.
1. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lighting-boost-learning-concentration_n_5720cb14e4b0b49df6a9b73e