5 ways to modernize your school

You want your school to be a beacon in the community—a facility that’s always ready to welcome students, a hub for all ages, and a refuge in times of emergency. Yet many schools struggle with outdated building systems and overwhelming maintenance needs. Here are five ways to improve infrastructure and increase your school’s resilience.

1. Make the invisible visible

You’re likely using a building automation system (BAS) to control HVAC, lighting and even security. Now it’s time to take the next step: mine the data those systems generate and use it to improve maintenance and operations. The challenge? Most schools don’t have the resources for effective data gathering, analysis and benchmarking— especially when it involves multiple buildings, campuses and utility providers.

Johnson Controls can integrate even aging systems within a building or across your district to capture key data. Affordable AI-fueled tools like OpenBlue Enterprise Manager help clarify where your facilities stand and set a course for proactive maintenance and upgrades.

2. Find opportunities inside and outside the walls

As experts in the built environment, Johnson Controls reviews your building data to identify repairs, retrofits and upgrades with favorable ROI. Capture savings and improve the learning environment through more efficient systems, optimal operations and reduced maintenance. Opportunities include but are not limited to:

• HVAC repairs and retrofits that support uptime and enhance student well-being
• Electrification opportunities to reduce energy use and emissions
• Central utility plant upgrades that cut operating costs
• Space use analysis to increase flexibility

It’s also smart to diversify your power supply, given strain on the grid from EVs and data centers as well as extreme weather events. Solar energy with innovative battery storage helps you reduce energy costs and increase resilience while demonstrating your commitment to sustainability.

3. Explore funding options

Johnson Controls partners with your district to prioritize needs, design a solution, consider funding alternatives, and navigate application and reporting requirements. Our finance experts support bond proposals as well as options like as-a-service models; performance contracting, which uses operational savings to pay for improvements (a powerful approach to deferred maintenance); public-private partnerships; and grants, rebates and government programs.

4. Manage labor shortfalls

Augment your staff at a time when skilled labor is in short supply. Operations and maintenance services from Johnson Controls focus on lifecycle management, keeping systems working at peak condition from installation to upgrade. Solutions range from planned service agreements, where factorytrained professionals regularly visit your school to maintain equipment, to embedding our experts on site in support of day-to-day service.

5. Achieve KPIs – guaranteed

We can guarantee results, helping you reduce total cost of ownership, save energy and decarbonize. Our team works with you during project development to define outcomes and metrics. Outcomes are guaranteed for the service term—and if guaranteed savings don’t accrue, we pay the difference. We’re proud to note that those payout numbers are historically small. Our five-year average for guaranteed energy savings, for example, shows that 99.8% of the time, we deliver as promised.