BOSTON — Schneider Electric announced a $10 million energy savings performance contract (ESPC) with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System, part of the New England Healthcare System (VISN 1). The ESPC will provide facility improvements and upgrades to buildings throughout three VA Boston campuses — in Brockton, Jamaica Plain, and West Roxbury — to become sustainable, highly efficient facilities.
“Schneider Electric is proud to serve the VA and our veterans through this self-funded project,” said Jeff Sherman, director, Federal Energy & Sustainability Services with Schneider Electric. “Not only will it improve the caring environment for the VA’s patients and staff, it will help the VA achieve its energy conservation and sustainability goals.”
Schneider Electric also has slated 66 percent of the project toward service-disabled veteran-owned small business utilization, surpassing the VA’s stated subcontracting goals for the ESPC project. Construction will take approximately 14 months, wrapping up late in the first quarter of 2017.
Schneider Electric will guarantee more than $850,000 annually in energy savings to the VA to fund the improvements. Much of the work focuses on lighting retrofits and steam system repairs to reduce steam pipe heat loss. Additional energy savings will be generated through improvements and adjustments to the building automation system (BAS). Savings will come from a variety of strategies, including:
• Conversion of pneumatic actuators.
• Expansion and upgrade of the direct digital control (DDC) system.
• Implementation or revision of scheduling and set-points.
• Retrofit of variable frequency drives.
• Correction of air and water flow deficiencies.
The VA and Schneider Electric have worked together on energy efficiency projects for more than 20 years across the nation. This partnership and familiarity paved the way for Schneider Electric and the VA to develop an implementation plan that enables the delivery of this ESPC with the least possible disruption to patient care. A collaboratively developed impact plan ensures that the needs of patients, visitors, and staff are at the forefront of design and construction activities.
For more information, visit www.schneider-electric.us.
Publication date: 2/8/2016
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