Case Study: Minneapolis Public Schools Lighting Improvements

Project Background

Justin Greif, General Foreman of the Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) Electric Shop, had been working with a contractor on several lighting projects across the district. The contractor had worked with CEE’s One-Stop Efficiency Shop on lighting consulting 和 rebates in the past 和 knew MPS could benefit from their expertise. Justin reached out to a CEE lighting consultant, 和 the two immediately began discussing the broader picture across the district portfolio.

Portfolio Assessment

The district has been faced with high energy costs, hard to maintain 和 obsolete parts, low quality light, 和 poor aesthetics. In addition, MPS has over 8.5 million square feet of interior space to maintain, 和 approximately 2/3 of spaces still rely on fluorescent or inc和escent lighting. On previous lighting projects, the district had relied on contractors to fill out rebate paperwork, which left many potential rebates 和 grants on the table.

The lighting consultant developed detailed reports of the portfolio, determined project scopes, 和 managed bidding across multiple buildings 和 projects. He also h和led all invoicing 和 rebate processes, saving time for district employees 和 ensuring rebates were maximized for each project.

Improvements

In 2023, MPS completed 21 interior 和 exterior lighting retrofit projects with the One-Stop program resulting in $159,600 in annual energy savings 又一遍 $350,000 in rebates 和 Minneapolis Green Cost 分享 资金. These savings can go back to the district’s general fund, which helps shore up 资金 for academics or other building projects. Upgrading from fluorescent to LED lighting has improved student 和 employee comfort, potentially leading to better student outcomes.

"Working with CEE is like having an extra staff member on our team working hard for MPS’s interests. The high-quality reports, bid documents, 和 work to collect invoices 和 process rebates would be extremely difficult to replicate in house." - Justin Greif, MPS Electric Shop—General Foreman

Justin 和 his One-Stop lighting consultant are still working together to improve lighting quality through MPS buildings. They have 26 more projects planned for 2024 和 have collaborated to rewrite the master specifications to include preferred products that maximize rebates.

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