The Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District (HEB ISD) is recognized across the state of Texas and nationwide for its superior curriculum, low teacher-student ratios, and a singular focus on instructional spending. This fine-tuned combination consistently makes it the district of choice for families that want their children to have an academic edge. The school district has a proud tradition of excellence as a diverse, high-performing organization committed to ensuring each student is empowered today to excel tomorrow.
HEB ISD makes a conscious effort to reduce expenses that are not focused on student achievement. In support of this effort, utility expenses are stringently managed by taking a holistic approach to energy consumption and incorporating the latest technologies. The result? HEB is one of the most energy-efficient school districts in the state. In fact, the school district’s energy program continues to stay one step ahead of the state’s energy code.
Looking to the future, HEB ISD sought a centralized lighting control system that would support each classroom’s unique requirements and easily scale with more classrooms and buildings implemented over time.
HEB ISD selected the Encelium Light Management System based on a recommendation from a lighting architect and after extensive system testing in a portable classroom. Three newly constructed facilities – the Viridian Elementary School in Arlington, Texas, the Gene A. Buinger Career and Technical Academy in Bedford, Texas, and the Auxiliary Services Center in Euless, Texas – now leverage the capabilities of this smart lighting solution.
With the knowledge that lighting directly affects learning, every Viridian Elementary classroom’s lighting is customized to meet the unique needs of particular tasks and classroom areas using the Encelium System’s task tuning capability. Lighting is programmed in the pre-kindergarten classroom to accommodate nap time. All lights are shut off while the children are resting except those over the teacher’s desk so that she can continue to work.
A special education classroom leverages a mild lighting setting to protect students from overstimulation. And, when a supervisor was experiencing migraines after bright LEDs were installed in his office, a click of a mouse in the Encelium System dimmed his office lighting to better meet his personal preferences and his migraines stopped.
Occupancy sensors employed in all three buildings ensure that lighting is off when a room is unoccupied and turn on automatically when someone enters. This significantly reduces energy consumption in buildings that are often empty in the evening, weekends, and during vacation periods. When classes are in session, corridor lights are set to a low 30% to save energy, and automatically brighten when someone enters the corridor.
“The move to the Encelium System was a big step for our distric t and we had a lot riding on that decision. It’s really paying of f in student comfort, educational experience and energy savings. It does everything I need it to do and then some.”
– Larry Parker, Energy Manager of HEB ISD
The Encelium System’s user-friendly energy consumption dashboards enable HEB ISD to easily adjust lighting where needed. System data on energy consumption is shared with other energy-focused organizations including the Texas Energy Managers Association (TEMA) where Parker serves as Chapter Vice President. The data is being used as the basis for an Energy Report Card for all of the district’s academic buildings.
“I joke that I am a flexible control freak. The Encelium System allows me the flexibility of functional control so that I can provide our customers the best environmental conditions for the least expense.”
– Josh Minor, Director of Maintenance and Operations of HEB ISD.
The average energy cost for lighting in HEB ISD academic buildings that have not installed the Encelium Light Management System, is 50 to 70 cents per square foot. In contrast, the buildings with the Encelium System are dramatically lower at just 23 cents per square foot with an overall energy cost savings of 56-65%.
Additionally, HEB ISD received a $26,000 rebate from its utility company for the Viridian Elementary School alone. Plans are currently underway to retrofit three additional district elementary schools with the Encelium System. In the future, HEB ISD hopes to integrate the Encelium System with other Building Management Systems (BMS) including HVAC.