Sullivan school officials eyeing LED lighting project

BLOUNTVILLE — A company called Excel Energy Group hopes to light the way for Sullivan County Schools with a $2.2 million project.It guarantees the project can fund its cost with electricity savings.In fact, the project is estimated by the company to generate a positive cash flow of $69,000 a year for nearly a decade, at which point the LEDs will be paid off and 10 years of warranty would remain.The Sullivan County Board of Education at its Dec. 10 meeting is to vote on a proposal to enter a contract with Excel that mirrors one already in place in Washington and Hawkins counties, as well as Sevier, Putnam and Cumberland counties and Maryville City Schools.Mark Gregory, a Middle Tennessee-based Excel employee in design and development, told the school board during its Nov. 14 work session that the company would provide Sullivan County Schools a turn-key project that would generate more than enough electricity savings to cover payments for the new LED lights and their installation by Excel, replacing fluorescent and any incandescent lights.Also attending the Nov. 14 school board work session was Colton Churchill, vice president of design and development for the Russellville, Arkansas-based Excel.The project is to cost about $2.2 million but be partially offset by a $127,000 to $170,000 incentive from the Tennessee Valley Authority, making for a net cost of less than $2.1 million.Projected annual savings across the school system of $317,000 would exceed the $248,000 annual payment on a 1.5% financing plan over nine years. The 1.5% interest rate is through the Tennessee Energy Efficient Schools Initiative or EESI.Sullivan County Director of Schools Chuck Carter said he's talked with Washington County Director Jerry Boyd and Hawkins County Director Matt Hixson, getting shining reports on Excel from both men. Before coming to Washington County, Boyd was with Putnam County that made a contract with Excel.The indoor lights would carry a 10-year warranty and outdoor fixtures a five-year warranty, although Gregory said most LED lights fail in the first 72 hours and will last for 60,000 hours or just less than 20 years. He said extra fixtures would be provided for school system maintenance to use as replacements over the long run.Over 30 years, Excel has done work for 2,000 school districts. Gregory said the savings comes from the lower wattage LED lights putting out the candle power of older lights with less energy, as well as using occupancy sensors in area with for or more lights that would cut 25-30% of electricity costs. Churchill said lighting for a school system usually accounts for 30-40% of its electrical usage.The plan by Excel would basically eliminate lighting maintenance for 20 years and improve the learning environment, making the system 100% LED. The two newest schools, West Ridge High School and Sullivan East Middle, are already all LED, Gregory said. In addition, the recently renovated hallways at Indian Springs Elementary have new LED lighting that he said won't be replaced.In the other schools, he said Excel would retrofit sound fixtures with LEDs and replace outdated, damaged yellowed fixtures. At Sullivan East High, he said the new fixtures would be recessed instead of surface mounted.Existing emergency exit lights that are not LED would have ballasts renewed and replaced with new LED equipment. Gregory said the gym lighting would be markedly brighter. The project would not include outdoor athletic field lights.In special education classrooms, the LED lights used would be "full spectrum" lights that provide a calming effect on students.The project would take 60 days to start. Work would be done from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. at schools, with the project being done one school at a time over a 40-day period.Quizzed by school board member, Gregory said that Excel tries to stay ahead of issues such as "bad batch" of lights by identifying those quickly and replacing that with known good lights. He said that happened in a gym in Hawkins County.Sullivan County Schools' potential project already is on the agenda for a Dec. 12 meeting, where EESI funding is to be approved. Gregory said if the county doesn't go forward with the Excel project, that loan simply wouldn't be used.