3C Engineering Selected to Lead SLOCOE Prop 39 Project

For decades, California schools have been wasting millions of tax payer dollars by running inefficient air conditioners for cooling classrooms, furnaces for heating buildings and hot water heaters and pumps that provide hot water to bathrooms and cafeteria kitchens. Schools have also been installing and re-installing energy hogging light fixtures and bulbs that result in extraordinarily disproportionate electric bills, paid for by you know who… you, the tax payer.

However, it important to know that school Facilities Managers have not been at fault because the money for updating air conditioning units, renovating inefficient heating systems and replacing outdated light and light fixtures has simply not been available. With their hands tied behind their backs, Facilities Managers have had to make do with what is already installed. In some cases, this means working with air conditioning units that are more than 25-years old or older for example. And in cases when the air conditioner is replaced, the thermostat controls for these units were manually adjusted, creating a cycle of wasted energy on cooling empty classrooms or buildings afterhours when occupancy is at zero.

The good news is, in 2013, California voters passed an initiative to change all of this, to help public schools catch up with the public sector and provide the much needed money to help start revamping dilapidated energy management systems, and to provide the needed funds to install digitally controlled, highly efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Proposition 39, the California Clean Energy Jobs Act, provides funding to California’s K-12 schools and Community College districts for the installation of energy efficient and clean energy projects.

Since the Act provides limited funds, it is critical that school districts select highly qualified and competent companies to assist with the design, implementation and commissioning of these new energy efficient projects. There are a number of requirements in place to ensure Proposition 39 funds deliver the expected energy efficiency and cost savings and it is up to the schools and the business they select to allocate the Prop 39 funds in the best and most cost effective ways possible.

We are proud to announce that after a rigorous application and evaluation process, the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education awarded 3C Engineering the distinguished role of spearheading all Proposition 39 projects. This will include the design, installation and commissioning of new energy efficient systems in the county’s K-12 schools and Community Colleges.

We are happy to be helping to protect our amazing environment on the Central Coast by reducing energy waste, implementing more energy efficient systems, and making certain those systems are optimized for best performance and making the best use of Prop 39 dollars for the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education.

If you have any questions or comments on this or any of our other critical community-based projects, please contact our team directly at 3C Engineering (805) 540-3363.