Radnor High School has a new heating and cooling system, funded largely by a $2.55 million state grant the district says eased the burden on local taxpayers.

The Radnor Township School District announced Sept. 20 that the high school's HVAC modernization is complete. The project replaced aging boilers, chillers, cooling towers, rooftop units, pumps and control equipment across the building as part of the district's five- and 10-year capital improvement plan.

The grant, which the district called a Pennsylvania School Infrastructure Grant, covered a significant share of the cost. Board and committee records refer to the funding as a Department of Community and Economic Development Public School Facility Improvement Grant. The district has not disclosed the total project price tag or how much came from local funds.

The Board of School Directors, whose Facilities Committee is chaired by member Lon Rosenblum, approved a resolution June 9 to apply for the state grant. That application, reviewed at the committee's June 2 meeting, sought up to $5 million for eligible projects. The district ultimately received $2.55 million.

Among the upgrades, the school swapped its old dual-fuel boilers for a high-efficiency condensing gas boiler array that captures exhaust heat conventional systems waste. A new York magnetic-bearing chiller cut mechanical friction, lowering energy use and maintenance needs. Variable frequency drives on pumps and air handlers let motors match building demand instead of running at full speed around the clock.

The project also added a thermal ice storage system. It freezes ice overnight, when electricity rates are lower, then uses that stored cooling during the day to reduce peak demand on the power grid. The district said the approach lowers peak-load costs and makes the cooling system more resilient.

The HVAC upgrade also qualified for a $14,000 PECO energy efficiency rebate, according to Facilities Committee records from Aug. 18. The district was pursuing three more PECO rebates for a high school building automation upgrade, a Radnor Elementary automation upgrade and roofing work.

The district said the new equipment improves ventilation, evens out temperature swings and upgrades air-handling capacity for students and staff. No projected energy savings figures have been released.