Project Summary

Trane Wireless Zone Sensors speed the construction process at a large school district in Missouri.

Liberty Public Schools serves residents

of about 85 square miles of Clay County,

northeast of Kansas City. The District includes

a preschool, ten elementary schools, two

middle schools, two junior high schools,

a senior high school and a second senior

high school scheduled to open in 2010.

Liberty Public Schools has been named a

“High Performing School District” by the State

of Missouri for six consecutive years—the

highest accreditation given to a Missouri

school, recognizing Liberty Public Schools as

one the state’s best school districts. Liberty

students consistently score above state and

national norms on standardized tests, have a

graduation rate of 90.8 percent and more than

90 percent of graduates seek higher education.

Liberty Public SchoolsHVAC and Control Systems Upgrades • Liberty, Missouri

The district was one of only three schools in the

nation honored by the National School Boards

Association for technology excellence. Liberty

is being used as a State of Missouri model

for effective use of technology in learning.

ChallengeIn early 2007 the Liberty School District

initiated a project to renovate and upgrade

the HVAC systems and equipment throughout

the district. As part of the project, the district

also wanted to install and integrate the HVAC

systems with a single, district-wide building

control system. At that time the school district

had Trane HVAC systems in five of the schools

and control systems from two other suppliers

in the other 10 school buildings. Four of the

schools had no control systems. Magnifying

the challenge was the requirement that all work

needed to be completed during the summer

of 2007, before students returned to class.

SolutionWorking with Dan Ketelle in the Kansas City

Trane office, Liberty School District replaced

many of the old HVAC units with new Trane

products for improved efficiency, comfort

control and reliability. Liberty Schools also

opted to purchase a Trane Tracer ES™

automation system for district-wide control.

In the schools where Trane HVAC equipment

is used, Trane also recommended installing

their newly developed wireless zone sensors

to speed the installation process. Wireless

zone sensors eliminated the time and

expense associated with hard wiring.

ResultsBy using Trane wireless sensors the HVAC

upgrades in schools with Trane equipment

were completed on time before school opened

in the fall of 2007. Schools not using Trane

systems were not finished until 2008. Trane

wireless sensors improved the construction

process by eliminating the need for hard wiring.

Without the need for conduit and wiring, Trane

wireless zone sensor technology is perfect

for new construction, remodels and retrofits.

No hard wiring provides substantial savings

in time and money by eliminating the need

for wiring schematics, conduit and running

wires. Wireless sensors are simply placed where

desired. When space configurations change,

the sensors can be quickly and easily moved

to a new location. Working with a Trane Tracer

ES system, the zone sensors provide better,

targeted control of temperatures and humidity.

Steven Aldrich, Director of Maintenance at

Liberty School District, said, “Installation of

the wireless sensors definitely expedited the

installation/construction process which is a

very important feature when dealing with the

small windows of opportunity—spring break,

Christmas break, summer break—that we usually

have to accomplish projects of this nature.

“The biggest advantage of the wireless

sensor is the fact that it’s easily relocated.

On occasion we are required to reconfigure a

classroom (or classrooms) to support a new

course of instruction or to accommodate

our growing student population. The

ability to easily and almost instantaneously

relocate the sensor anywhere in the

room during the course of remodeling or

construction gives us complete flexibility.

“The wireless sensors operate as well as

our hard-wired sensors. When you couple

the operating characteristics, which are

virtually the same as a hard-wired sensor,

with the ease of installation, it makes the

wireless sensor a very attractive option.

Aldrich concluded, “I’m pleased with the

performance of our wireless sensors. They

expedited the installation process and

gave us options for sensor placement we

wouldn’t have had with hard-wired sensors.

In addition, they allow flexibility and ease

of sensor relocation if future construction

or remodeling projects require this.”

Systems Installed

• Trane Wireless Zone Sensors

• Trane Tracer ES™ building automation system

Trane optimizes the performance of homes and buildings around the world. A business of Ingersoll Rand, the leader in creating and sustaining safe, comfortable and energy efficient environments, Trane offers a broad portfolio of advanced controls and HVAC systems, comprehensive building services, and parts. For more information, visit www.Trane.com.

© 2009 Trane All rights reserved CASE-SLX197-EN November 17, 2009

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