Darby School District has served communities throughout the southern Bitterroot Valley for more than a century. During the early 20th century, several smaller rural schools in the surrounding area closed and consolidated with Darby Schools. Following a wildfire that destroyed the original high school in 1972, the district’s main campus was constructed in 1973. Today, the multi-building campus includes administrative offices, general classrooms, locker rooms, and a gymnasium. The campus is supported by a central utility system that incorporates an underground tunnel network for air supply and distribution, along with a wood-chip biomass boiler plant installed in 2003.
Electro Controls first had the privilege of working with Darby School District on their facility’s energy retrofit in 2011. At this time, Electro retrofitted all existing controls with DDC controls. This included retrofitting controls on the heat exchangers, pumps, supply fans, heating coils, cabinet unit heaters, unit heaters, air handling units, relief hoods, exhaust fans, unit ventilators, and more. Since 2011, Electro Controls has upgraded the HW system controls at the Junior High, installed controls in the Middle School locker room addition and other expansions, and most recently, worked alongside McKinstry on the school district HVAC renovations.