MANCHESTER, N.H. – Manchester School District officials have impending decisions to make on fragile heating systems to could result in a lack of heating to Manchester West and Central High Schools if not replaced soon.
During the March 11 school board Committee on Finance and Facilities meeting, district Facilities Manager Josh Gagne told the committee that three of the five hot water boilers at West have failed within the last six months, while consultant Mike Davey of Energy Efficient Investments said a boiler failed last year at Central. Currently, Central has three boilers, but one failed seven years ago in addition to the one that failed last year, leaving only one boiler left that was installed in 2001. Although that last boiler is capable of heating the whole campus and is still within its expected life span, it would leave the Central campus with no backup if it fails.
Central is also the district’s last remaining building with a steam heating system and pneumatic controls, technology that uses compressed air to regulate temperature rather than digital controls now used in most schools.
At Central, replacing the steam boiler is expected to cost approximately $1.6 million while a complete conversion to the digital control system used elsewhere in the district would cost about $4.9 million, although it could be phased over several years. Additionally, Davey said transitioning from the steam system could save approximately $20,000 to $30,000 annually in fuel costs.
Ward 7 board member Chris Potter asked if instead of using natural gas, renewable energy could be used for the district’s heating needs. For this, a rough estimate of approximately $40 million was put forward according to Davey, which he said could be feasible for a 30-year investment if Central’s boiler could last until 2027. However, Davey advised immediate action given that only one boiler remains.
Gagne said that he would have recommended upgrading Central away from its steam system – until the need arose for new boilers at West, along with other necessary capital improvement including repairs to sewer lines under Parkside Middle School, stage ventilation repairs at Memorial High School, design work and roof replacement at West and gym and cafeteria work needed at Central, and others. Currently, the district has about $5.8 million available for capital improvement projects. Gagne also recommends approximately $600,000 to $1 million in capital improvement funds to roll over each year for emergencies.
Gagne also said that purchasing the new steam boiler at Central would commit most of the campus to steam for several decades, but other parts of the campus could be transitioned to newer systems in the near term.
Ward 1 board member Julie Turner said that she was leaning toward the steam option due to unpredictable future revenue for capital investment needs as well the capital investment needs for all of the city’s public schools. She also feared a lack of redundancies if the remaining boiler failed, but expressed concern on replacing steam pipes, with that cost dependent on where the pipe broke.
The news on the boilers was presented as informational only, with no immediate action taken during the meeting.