SMART ENGINEERING. TRUSTED PROTECTION. RUGGED RELIABILITY.

Tuscumbia, Alabama was first settled in 1815. Originally the site of a Cherokee Indian village, Tuscumbia was also home to the first railroad west of the Allegheny Mountains.

Today, Tuscumbia has retained its original charm. With a population of just over 9,000, Tuscumbia also enjoys one of the best school systems in the state of Alabama.

It is this singular desire to support its rich educational system which prompted Tuscumbia’s City Board of Education to pursue a plan to remodel two of its more than 40 year old school buildings.

“We wanted to give our students a comfortable environment in which to learn and recognized that we had a number of things that needed to be updated, including both schools chilled water HVAC systems, and we had to do so within a budget with no margin or error,” said Royce Massey, Superintendent, Tuscumbia City Schools. Since new building codes require that a certain amount of fresh air be delivered to each classroom based on the number of occupants, it was decided that one central air handler also needed to be installed in each building.

To help with the renovations, Tuscumbia’s School Board hired Parker Architects who in turn hired Paul Smith and Associates. “At first we specified Bard’s standard gas/electric wall mount air conditioner units with an additional roof top make up air unit for each school,” said Paul Smith, PE, Environmental Systems Corporation.

Unfortunately after final bids were collected from all of the contractors involved, the project came back nearly $200,000 over budget.

Why Bard?

Thirty years ago, Bard began solving the comfort needs of schools across the country. Providing wall-mounted heating and cooling equipment, Bard’s products offer a combination of quiet operation, patented ventilation packages, unsurpassed quality and dependability that make them the #1 choice by many school officials.

With three state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and a global distribution network, Bard’s commitment to quality and product innovation begins with its commitment to research and development. With features like self-diagnostics and self programming energy monitors, Bard delivers products that provide tangible solutions for today’s modern school facilities.

Bard’s Contribution

After the bids were returned, Tuscumbia’s School Board and Parker Architects realized that they had to find a way to resolve the cost barrier or they would have to forgo the bulk of renovations.

“Bard really came through when the bids came back,” said Massey.

To solve the problem, John Hayes, who works for the George Wheelock Company – one of Bard’s distributors in Alabama – proposed eliminating the two central make up air units and adding features to the Bard WG units that would allow each to provide fresh air to each classroom.

“It required some re-engineering of the units on Bard’s part,” said Hayes. “We also decided to add energy recovery ventilator cassettes and the dehumidification option to each unit.” These features would allow each unit to pre-treat the outside air – removing heat and moisture in the summer, adding heat in the winter – and also adding dehumidification, allowing each unit to control humidity in each space.

WG Series Wall Mount™ Gas Electric Air Conditioners

The WG Series is designed to be mounted on the exterior wall surface of the classroom – fully engineered to be quiet, comfortable, aesthetically pleasing and secure. All of Bard’s WG Series units are designed to meet or exceed federal standards with easy installation features that make servicing fast and simple.

Bard’s WG Series units provide the following features:

• A one-piece factory unit with individual room climate control
• Optional ventilation packages including energy recovery
• Controlled dehumidification
• Simple utility hookups
• Integrated energy recovery ventilator
• Easy installation, maintenance and service
  
  

Tuscumbia’s Results

“Bard’s willingness to come forward and work towards a solution helped to save the project,” said Brad Bernard, Parker Architects.

By eliminating all of the ductwork and subsequent demolition of each hallway ceiling, as well as changing the lighting, wiring and plumbing within the ceiling, Bard saved the Tuscumbia School Board over $300,000.

“As part of the savings, there were no additional installation costs because the new features came Bard factory installed with each unit,” said Smith.

Bard’s experience working with school systems around the country helps them design manufacture and support the best HVAC system currently on the market. Not only can Bard save its customers money on the installation of traditional HVAC systems, Bard’s units, like the ones installed in Tuscumbia, can save their customers money on their maintenance costs because they are simple to maintain and service.

“Its win-win for everyone involved,” said Massey. “Because of Bard’s initiative and everyone’s willingness to work together, we were able to complete the product, on time and within budget—allowing our students to get the best education in an environment that’s comfortable and one that fosters their hard work and creativity.”