Anoka-Hennepin School District

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Anoka-Hennepin School District
Modulating buildings reduces annual energy consumption by 8.5%
and generates a payback in less than two years.
The Anoka-Hennepin School District serves
families living in 13 communities north of
the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
In 1952, community leaders from small
towns and rural areas recognized the need
to provide students with the best education
possible and voted overwhelmingly to
consolidate into the Anoka-Hennepin School
District 11. As population growth spurred
development of the suburban communities
of Anoka-Hennepin, the school district grew
rapidly in size, from approximately 4,000
students at the time the district formed, to
more than 40,000 today.
Client Objectives
Steve Anderson, Director of Buildings &
Grounds for Anoka-Hennepin school district
has been tracking energy consumption in all
of his schools and comparing them against
each other for several years. He met with his
Siemens Solution Partner to discuss ways
the district could reduce energy and save on
utility costs.
The Siemens Solution Partner has had a
long relationship with Anoka school district.
One of his recommendations was to ensure
each school’s steam boiler was modulating
the entire building and not just the boiler.
Reliable Siemens products, such
as the TALON Network Manager
and steam pressure sensor, were
installed to maximize efficiency.
Answers for infrastructure.
Boost facility performance by enhancing
boiler modulation.
“Burner manufacturers do sell modulating controls with a boiler,
causing many customers to think they are maximizing their
burner efficiency, but they don’t realize that these factory
burner controls do not monitor building conditions,” said the
Siemens Solution Partner. “It’s important to show customers
how facility performance is boosted by taking their boiler to the
next step of modulation.” A whole-building approach to
modulation reduces constant on/off cycling and fuel waste and
leads to benefits that include fuel efficiency, greater occupant
comfort, and longer life for the boiler and components.
“It’s important to show customers
how facility performance is boosted by
taking their boiler to the next step of
modulation.”
Siemens Solutions
Steve decided to install Siemens burner modulation controls at
Blaine High School as a test site and monitored its performance
during the 2011-2012 school year. Because of its similar design
to Anoka High School, Steve was able to use Anoka High School
as a comparison against Blaine High School as well as a previous
year’s consumption data. With the unusually warm winter
season, comparing only to past years consumption would not
be beneficial. Having a facility of very similar design allowed for
a comparison during the same time and regional temperatures.
Steam boilers operate in a very manual process, with assumed
building conditions. In the past, when building conditions
changed it would use more steam and fuel – providing more
than what was needed for the building. To automate this,
the Siemens Solution Partner wrote a program based on
building conditions and load, helping the boiler better
maintain the pressure required to heat the facility. This
would ensure that the boilers modulate the firing rate
according to the building requirements.
Client Results
Modulating burners at Blaine High School, in the AnokaHennepin School District has generated an approximate
8.5% reduction in energy and a payback of less than
two years.
“You can imagine how pleased I was to learn that the burner
modulation system installed at Blaine High School reduced
my energy consumption by approximately 8.5% on my
interruptible fuel. Using the data from the previous year and
similar buildings natural gas consumption, I was able to see a
substantial savings within one year,” said Steve. “As a result
of the energy savings that we experienced with these
controls, I have calculated our payback to be less than
two years.”
This savings led Steve to expand the burner modulation
program to 10 more schools in the Anoka-Hennepin School
District. He will continue to monitor consumption by all
buildings with a plan for additional expansion.
Whole-building modulating is repeatable for all types of
facilities. Ask your Siemens Solution Partner for more
information on how they can help you achieve energy
savings and a rapid return on investment.
Siemens Industry, Inc.
Building Technologies Division
Buffalo Grove, IL 60089
Tel: (847) 215-1000
Fax: (847) 215-1093
Copyright 2012
Siemens Industry, Inc.
All rights reserved.
(12/12, Part# 996-4987)
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