Cookeville High School New Climate Technology Pinpointing Issues

Cookeville High School’s climate now being controlled centrally thanks to new software.

Johnson Controls System updated the software and equipment that controls the school’s HVAC system. Putnam County Deputy Director of Schools Tim Martin said the update allows them to make adjustments to multiple units from the office. He said even if there is a problem the upgraded system will pinpoint where the issue is.

“The old control system that we had, the computer software and actually a lot of the computer equipment that we used to run it, was just outdated,” Martin said. “We’ve updated as much as we could so we pretty much had to go with a whole new system on that.”

Martin said the software’s troubleshooting function should help the school save money on maintenance. He said the new software interconnects Cookeville High School’s complex HVAC system, allowing them to control every aspect of the system.

“You’ve got some units in each classroom,” Martin said. “Those big units that go up on the roofs, I mean there’s dozens of those and those are thousands of dollars each. You’ve got a chiller and a boiler and it’s all part of that system. Those things are hundreds of thousands of dollars each. It’s a huge system.”

Martin said the update was a big improvement over the old control system.

“There was nothing else we can do to it,” Martin said. “Quite honestly, if we hadn’t done the upgrade to this we would have really lost most of the controls. I mean every single individual thing would have to be handled manually, and it would be almost impossible to run a system that size having to make every adjustment manually.”

Martin said despite all the new tech and software, the most important thing is how well the system keeps the schools at the right temperature.

“Hopefully, it’ll just be comfort,” Martin said. “I mean that’s what your whole HVAC system is for, and hopefully if we can keep everything working and everything adjusted just right, hopefully it’ll be comfortable in the building.”

Martin said Johnson Controls System worked on the upgrade for nearly two months. Johnson Controls is a company that specializes in smart buildings.