Heat Relief for Preston Hall

WAITSBURG – At least one Preston Hall classroom will stay cool once temperatures start to rise this spring, thanks in large part to a donation from Young’s Heating and Cooling and their distributors.

Several months ago, the Waitsburg school district accepted an offer from Young’s to install a ductless mini-split heat pump in one classroom at no cost to the district for equipment and labor. The only cost the district would incur would be supplying electrical service to the unit. The heat pump was installed over winter break and is reported to be working well, though the real test will come when the temps soar.

Waitsburg school district maintenance supervisor Colter Mohney said the district works frequently with Young’s and that he and owner Erik Young often discuss ways to improve the HVAC and air quality in the classrooms. “Erik is really good about helping me crunch numbers and look at new stuff coming down the line,” said Mohney. “He even helps with projects that are out of his range and will say so if something is more suited to a competitor.”

The lack of air conditioning necessary to provide a comfortable learning environment in the elementary and middle school classrooms has been a major concern for the district for many years. Young suggested the ductless heat pump as a possible solution.

Young’s performed a heat load calculation, used the numbers to design the system and installed the equipment. The district had to install a transformer in the Preston Hall attic to convert the three-phase electric power to the appropriate single-phase power, at a cost of about $3,000.

“A mini-split is an efficient, cost-effective, affordable solution to an individual classroom repair,” said Mohney. “Instead of doing a major overhaul, we can solve the problem on a room-by-room level. This lets us play with the options and see how the equipment works for us,” he added.

“It was a pleasure to donate and install a ductless heat pump for the district,” said Young. “The new unit will cut heating cost in that classroom by 2/3 and provide air conditioning in warmer weather. We are thankful the district partnered with us so we could do our part to give back to the community.”