IFS is completing an extensive $3.1 million design/build upgrade of heating, ventilating and air conditioning HVAC systems at four schools in the Pattonville School District. New HVAC systems will replace outdated equipment to increase energy efficiency and reduce operating costs.

At Pattonville High School, the IFS team airlifted 70 tons (lbs) of equipment by air crane helicopter to replace the school’s HVAC rooftop units. The two-and-a-half-hour project involved 70 helicopter lifts to remove 32 existing, hard-to-reach HVAC units and replace them with 38 new HVAC units and cooling coils. 16 IFS employees were on-site along with employees of Midwest Helicopter Airways Inc., the air crane operator, and Navitas, the energy performance contractor.

The IFS project is part of a $10 million upgrade to improve HVAC systems; add efficiencies to kitchen, lighting and water systems; replace windows and roofs; improve weatherization; upgrade Building Automation Systems (BAS); and provide advanced data analytics. The initiative is funded through performance contracts and is scheduled to complete before the start of the 2019-2020 school year.