Cost-Savings and Comfort with Zoned Technology

Inviting Spaces

St. Joseph School was able to save money on electric bills and increase overall comfort with Zoned Comfort Solutions from Mitsubishi.

St. Joseph School (St. Joseph’s), a small, private Catholic school in Pilot Grove, MO., has been in operation since 1902. Since its establishment, the school has been educating students between grades one through eight. After many years running on an outdated boiler system and noisy window units, the school needed to find a system that could efficiently cool and heat the 5,400-square-foot building year-round without disrupting day-to-day activities. The solution: Zoned Comfort Solutions from Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating (Mitsubishi Electric).

The renovation started with a need for comfort. Nichole Watring, principal, says, “The boiler system that was in place previously didn’t heat the rooms evenly. The building is a two-story building with a basement, and the upstairs rooms were always much warmer than the downstairs rooms. There wasn’t a way for the teachers to control the temperature in their rooms, and the window units for the A/C were very noisy. It was hard to hear when the units were running, but when they were turned off, the rooms warmed up quickly.”

With these needs in mind, the school began its search for a new system and reached out to Jamie Callahan, director of field operations, Air and Water Solutions, Columbia, MO., to assist in the process. Immediately, Callahan believed there was only one solution for St. Joseph’s—zoned technology.

With the technology selected, Callahan offered Zoned Comfort Solutions from Mitsubishi Electric as the brand for the school to install.

Since installation, Callahan has received nothing but positive feedback from the school, specifically with the system’s ability to offer cost savings. He says, “From what I’ve heard, the school went from paying thousand dollar electric bills to paying $245 a month. That’s nearly 25 percent of the original cost.”

www.mitsubishipro.com

This article originally appeared in the School Planning & Management March 2018 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • UT-San Antonio Begins Residence Hall Renovations

    The University of Texas at San Antonio recently began a $6-million renovation project to one of its residence halls, according to a news release. Originally completed in 1986, Chisolm Hall measures in at 120,860 square feet and is the oldest and largest residence hall on campus.

  • Q&A: How to Prevent Kitchen Grease Fires in Commercial Kitchens

    School cafeterias and university dining halls serve thousands of meals daily, relying on high-heat equipment like fryers, grills, and ovens. While these operations keep students fed, they also generate significant grease-laden vapors. Without proper controls, this grease becomes a silent fire threat. As a certified exhaust cleaning specialist and business coach who has helped hundreds of institutional facilities achieve NFPA 96 compliance, I emphasize that proactive grease management isn’t optional; it’s a core fire/life safety practice.

  • Nashville Elementary School Receives LEED Gold Certification

    Goodlettsville Elementary School, part of Metro Nashville Public Schools in Nashville, Tenn., recently achieved LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), according to a news release. The 81,750-square-foot school opened in 2023 and was designed by Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC).

  • Sam Houston State University Completes Athletic Stadium Renovations

    Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, recently announced the reopening of Elliott T. Bowers Stadium after an extensive renovation project, according to a news release. The university partnered with Stantec and DLR Group for the project’s design.