With students enjoying spring break, the Sequim School District used a less-crowded campus and some fortunate good weather to upgrade its heating systems.

Contractors brought in a large construction crane to remove and replace two old rooftop HVAC heat pump units at Sequim High School last week, along with work at other school sites.

“This is an important part of our overall program to improve conditions and economical operation in these aging facilities,” John McCandie, Sequim School District Facilities director, said. “Systems like HVAC just eventually wear out and can no longer be kept running economically, if at all.”

Using local contractor Air-Flo Inc. for HVAC installation and other area tradesmen for electrical, roofing repair and control system modernizations associated with the upgrade, the district looked to “update and improve indoor air quality, comfort and energy efficiency in aging school facilities,” district officials said in a press release.

The systems will “deliver greatly improved comfort with high efficiency heating and cooling” as well as “save energy with new highly efficient heat pumps using less electricity.”

Crews replaced the 30-year-old high school HVAC units on April 3.

Originally the work was begun over winter break, but had to be rescheduled when staff found a need for more structural reinforcement due to the heavier weight of the replacement units and congested space above the ceiling, district officials said.

Voters in February approved additional incremental modernization of the central food service facility and other improvements at the Sequim Community School site. Planning for this work will soon be underway.

For more information, contact the district office at 582-3260 or Heidi Hietpas at hhietpas@sequim.k12.wa.us.