Oxford High School

HVAC Equipment

Security

Digital Solutions

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Residential and Smart Home

Building Automation & Controls

Fire Detection

Distributed Energy Storage

Global Directory

South Africa - English

HVAC Equipment

Security

Digital Solutions

Industrial Refrigeration

Fire Suppression

Retail Solutions

Residential and Smart Home

Building Automation & Controls

Fire Detection

Distributed Energy Storage

Global Directory

South Africa - English

Oxford High School

Connecting Students and Technology

Challenge

In 2011, when a small Mississippi town’s school needed to accommodate growth in its student population, administrators envisioned building a new high-tech, energy-efficient high school that would support their goal of putting a laptop in the hands of every student in grades seven through 12.

It was a bold vision. If realized, Oxford High School would be the first in its state to deliver a one-to-one digital learning environment. The community supported the initiative; a bond referendum raised $30 million for construction of the new high school. But it wasn't enough to deliver everything on the district's wish list.

Oxford High School needed to stretch its investment beyond what traditional construction would allow.

Solution

To bring the vision to life in the most efficient way possible, Oxford named Johnson Controls the single source technology contractor. The Technology Contracting™ model typically lowers first costs by 8-12% and, in the long term, decreases operational and utility expenses because customers don't need to manage multiple systems under various vendors.

Johnson Controls suggested the district use future energy savings to overcome the funding shortfall. Through an Energy Services Agreement (ESA), efficient lighting, heating and air conditioning systems were installed during construction with the expectation that over the lifecycle of the building, the projected energy and operational savings would more than make up for the first costs associated with creating a more sustainable facility.

A Metasys® building management system was also installed to control and monitor critical energy systems within the new 200,000 square-foot facility, which are powered by a modular central energy plant. Compared to a traditional central plant, the modular unit is less expensive to build, takes up less space, is less costly to maintain and can easily accommodate future expansion.

The projected utility and operational savings were then leveraged to fund the district's primary goal: to create a safe, inspiring learning environment by incorporating advanced technology throughout the facility.

The Johnson Controls P2000 security management system was installed to help the school reduce risk and keep occupants safe. The P2000 security management system monitors and controls access doors and provides real-time data to security and school personnel. And in the event of an emergency or security breach, a one-touch button triggers a lockdown and alerts first responders.

Results

The Oxford High School experience demonstrates that school districts don't necessarily have to compromise on their wish list, even when traditional sources of funding fall short. As Oxford School District Superintendent Brian Harvey put it, "It can be done. This is a tremendous way to upgrade facilities or to improve facilities if you’re planning new construction. We wouldn’t have been able to do it otherwise."

The new Oxford High School opened its doors in January 2014 to more than 1,000 students. And as a result of its partnership with Johnson Controls, the school expects to:

Reduce energy use by the equivalent of more than 200 homes annually
Decrease its carbon footprint by the equivalent to the carbon sequestered by 537 acres of pine forest annually
Save $6 million in energy and operational costs over 15 years
Achieve LEED® Silver certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, the first certification of a high school in Mississippi

The immediate benefits and projected savings are so significant, the district has decided to retrofit its old high school - and perhaps other buildings - to take advantage of the efficiencies that can be gained by standardizing on the Metasys® building management system and scaling the high-powered IP network throughout the district.

Full Case Study

Oxford High School Image and Video Gallery

When faced with a funding shortfall, district administrators relied on projected energy savings to create a digital learning environment.

Oxford's vision for a connected learning environment to better educate students for college & careers is now a reality.

The new Oxford High School puts student, teacher and staff safety first. Watch this video to see how state-of-the-art technology is helping to create a safer and more secure learning environment.

See how Johnson Controls routed all of Oxford High School's network cabling to a single, converged and secure Local Area Network, creating an ultra-high performance network at a fraction of the cost of installing disparate networks for each subsystem.