New environmental system on horizon in District 225
The Glenbrook High School District 225 board on Monday discussed a costly, yet necessary upgrade of building automation systems.
The district could spend more than $4 million on the upgrade, though rebates and grants will trim more than $1 million off the cost.
The current system, which runs electrical, lighting, heating and air conditioning at Glenbrook North, Glenbrook South, Glenbrook Off-Campus and the administration building, was installed in 2001. People can operate the connected building systems from a single interface.
"The heart beat of a lot of our mechanical systems," District 225 Associate Superintendent R.J. Gravel called it at the May 22 meeting.
The automation system's software - Siemens Apogee/Insight - was given an "end of life" classification in January 2022 and no longer is receiving updates.
As well, this software requires a workstation running Microsoft Windows 7, which Gravel and Director of Operations Kim Ptak said comes with security risks and problems with system backups.
The automation system's hardware also is vintage 2001, with many replacement parts no longer manufactured and limited to third-party vendors.
Gravel said a look at the building automation systems was being considered years ago, but had been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
To figure out the extent of what needed to be done, buildings and ground teams met with vendors, and other school districts that had installed the upgraded Siemens products within the last five years.
The project also benefits by the professional expertise of board member and former board President Skip Shein, a retired Siemens project manager with an emphasis in energy conservation.
Though Shein said he didn't work in the Siemens division that provided the equipment, he did say that when the board votes on the upgrade at its June 12 meeting, he would recuse himself due to "a perception of a conflict of interest."
Shein called the $4 million cost "a bitter pill to swallow," but said using Windows 7 presented a significant security risk, and was intended for "Word and Excel and playing some games."
In their research, the teams determined as much of the existing hardware as possible would be capable to carry forward. They found the new software is compatible with the prior version, which saves about $1 million in programming costs.
A plus with a newer system is that, unlike currently, teachers will be able to adjust temperature settings in their rooms.
The project is planned in three phases over three years, starting this July through September 2025.
The total cost is expected to be lessened by a $150,000 rebate from ComEd, and a $1 million allocation from one of the pandemic aid packages, ESSER III, for an estimated total of $2.86 million.
Shein said rebates from Nicor may be tricky to obtain, but will be explored.
"By sticking with the system that's there and upgrading it, I believe there's a tremendous savings," Shein said. "From my recollection, we budgeted $5 million ... for this three or four years ago ... In the context, it actually seems to me to be fairly reasonable."