Estrella Engineering designs award-winning air-conditioning system for
Fleming Island High School

Estrella Engineering designed a $3.3 million air-conditioning system for a 155,100-square-foot space at Fleming Island High School in Green Cove Springs, Fla. The project was based on the client's desire for an efficient, low-maintenance central plant that would avoid water-cooled chillers and cooling towers. The client wanted Estrella Engineering to provide a reliable system without redundant central plant equipment.

Estrella Engineering created a design that uses a demand-based ventilation system and energy recovery to reduce equipment, energy and maintenance costs. The system's direct digital control system monitors carbon dioxide levels to determine the building's occupancy level. Based on those results, the DDC system automatically adjusts the ventilation rate, minimizing the introduction of outside air and the energy required to cool and dehumidify it.

Fleming Island High School wanted a low-maintenance air-conditioning system that required as little manpower as possible to operate and maintain. Estrella Engineering met this request by designing a system that uses air-cooled screw chillers, which provide relatively simple operation and require relatively low maintenance. Additionally, the DDC system monitors filter status, minimizing maintenance labor and the unnecessary replacement of filters that are not fully loaded.

The final product was a cost-effective, energy-efficient HVAC system that met the client's needs, saved 155 tons of air conditioning and earned Estrella Engineering the Regional American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineer Technology Award in 2004.

Estrella Engineering won an ASHRAE Award for its design of a cost-effective and energy-efficient HVAC system for RideOut Elementary School in Middleburg, Fla.