Van Buren High School Chiller Replacement Update

(From Van Buren Local Schools)

We are thrilled to share that the new high school chiller installation is complete and ready to tackle the warm weather! As part of our facilities strategic plan, we are committed to maintaining a comfortable and safe environment for our students, staff, and community. You will recall that replacing the chiller that cools the high school is the first phase of the project that will also add air conditioning to the HS gymnasium this summer (see the Improvement Projects news article for more information).

What happened? Back in 2024, the Facilities Committee began discussing the age of the HS chiller and the importance of replacing it before it stopped working to avoid more significant disruptions. Working with Buehrer Group, plans were designed during the summer of 2025. Bids for the project were then collected, and the lowest bid from Titan Mechanical, Inc., was approved at the December 18, 2025, board meeting. On Monday, April 6, the original chiller, installed in 2003 and responsible for cooling the entire high school, was removed because it had reached the end of its lifespan. Once it was removed, the new unit was placed the same day. Since then, work was completed to install new electrical connections and water piping to accommodate the upgrade from a 100-ton to a 110-ton unit, which will result in a 10% increase in cooling capacity to better handle high temperatures.

Why now? Replacing critical equipment like this is always a balancing act. We proactively scheduled this work for April to take advantage of expected cooler temperatures and avoid the risk of a major failure during warm-weather months.

Thank you for your patience! We know it was a bit warm in the high school building in mid-April when the replacement was taking place. While those few days were a minor inconvenience, our approach saved us from a potential minimum six-month period without chilled air in the high school if the old unit had failed.

Another benefit from the chiller replacement is that the controls for the pump that pushes the chilled water throughout the building were also replaced. Because of that improvement, Maintenance Supervisor Mr. Casey Morman is able to run the pump at a lower speed, which results in less noise and more money saved on electricity.

Morman said, “I’m glad we were proactive in replacing the chiller so we could avoid a potential long-term period without cooling capabilities, which would have been uncomfortable for our students and others in the building. New equipment is typically more efficient, so an added bonus is that we can lower our energy costs.”

Is the entire project done? Gymnasium renovations, including adding air conditioning, started on June 1 after the graduation ceremony. That project is expected to be completed by the end of July, before the start of the fall sports season.

We appreciate everyone being resilient as we work to build better experiences and facilities for our Black Knight family!