Oklahoma City Community College Combines Campus Expansion with Energy Saving Improvements

Oklahoma City Community College Combines Campus Expansion with Energy Saving
Improvements
- School to Receive Trane Energy Efficiency Award -

OKLAHOMA CITY, July 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Education leaders at Oklahoma
City Community College (OCCC) recently completed infrastructure upgrades that
have significantly decreased energy use and improved the school's learning
environment while making the school more environmentally responsible.

In 1995, the school undertook an extensive expansion to upgrade aging
infrastructure and to increase total square footage by 30 percent. The school
also needed to address rapidly growing enrollment which today is nearly 22,000
students.

Between September 2003 and September 2008 alone, the new high efficiency
infrastructure systems chosen by the administrators have decreased the
school's energy use per square foot by nearly 35 percent.

"We've been very pleased with the energy savings on the infrastructure
improvements," said Dr. Paul Sechrist, president, OCCC. "Additionally, as one
of the nation's largest community colleges, we believe it's important that, in
addition to teaching young people about environmental responsibility in our
classrooms, we demonstrate it with our actions."

OCCC Receiving an Award for Energy Leadership
In recognition of the importance of these upgrades and OCCC's commitment to
energy efficiency and to reducing its environmental footprint, the school will
be receiving the "Trane Energy Efficiency Leader in Education Award" for its
sustainable energy and operational efficiency improvements.

Details of the award presentation:
-- Scott Krull, vice president of commercial business in the U.S. west
territory for Trane, will present the award to Dr. Paul Sechrist,
president of OCCC

-- Awards presentation will be at 10:30 a.m. on July 17 in the OCCC
Union,
Room 3.

The Energy Efficiency Leader in Education Award honors a school that has
completed building improvements that optimize the teaching and learning
environments and increase operational efficiency.

Upgrades Benefit Entire Campus
While upgrades were completed throughout the campus, infrastructure
improvements to the school's chilled water plant, which serves the entire
campus, are among the most significant. The plant's efficiency and
effectiveness were maximized by upgrading the pumping system and by adding a
new chilled water system to provide constant volume. The upgrades also
expanded capacity to enable the plant to meet the needs of the expanded
campus.

In the school's library, improvements to an existing thermal ice storage
system shifted ice production to low-cost evening hours, saving energy and
money.

In three buildings: the Health Professions Center for nursing students, the
SEM (Science, Engineering and Math) Center, and the Visual and Performing Arts
Center, improvements included new air handlers and valves and controls for
increased energy and operational efficiency.

About OCCC
A state college, OCCC is the fifth largest higher education institution in
Oklahoma with an annual enrollment of nearly 22,000 students. Considered a
landmark in the southwestern section of Oklahoma City, the college is located
on 143 acres just south of Interstate 240 on South May Avenue. OCCC was
founded in 1972, and was established on the belief that everyone deserves an
opportunity for a college education. OCCC is a progressive two-year college,
offering nearly 50 associate degree programs and numerous certificates of
mastery. Each year, nearly 1,200 students graduate from OCCC. The college
maintains a passion for providing one of the best instructional systems in the
country and has a student-faculty ratio of 22:1.

About Trane
Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand, improves the performance of homes and
buildings around the world. Trane solutions optimize indoor environments with
a broad portfolio of energy-efficient heating, ventilating and air
conditioning systems, building and contracting services, parts support and
advanced controls for homes and commercial buildings. For more information,
visit www.trane.com.

SOURCE Trane

Joan Schimml, Trane, +1-651-407-3897, joan.schimml@trane.com