Vista Grande Elementary School ZNE

In 2016, Vista Grande Elementary School applied for Prop 39 funding for a Zero Net Energy (ZNE) retrofit. SDG&E’s Emerging Technologies (ET) program supported this effort by providing energy modeling, energy efficiency recommendations, a Measurement & Verification (M&V) plan, and M&V Implementation. This report represents the culmination of more than 6 years of efforts by many contributors.

Vista Grande Elementary School is a two-story 50,000 sf building which includes: classrooms, a media center/library, a small kitchen and multi-purpose room and office support spaces. It is part of the San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) and is located in Tierrasanta, CA at 5606 Antigua Boulevard.

There are also eight (8) portable classrooms on the site, referred to as the Bungalows, but they were not part this project. However, they must be considered during the analyses because their electricity and natural gas consumption is included on the utility meters for Vista Grande Elementary School.

The project has implemented several energy efficiency measures and installed a solar photovoltaic (PV) system in pursuit of Zero Net Energy (ZNE). Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented Vista Grande Elementary School from achieving ZNE. The project was able to achieve Zero Net Electricity, however, and finished the 12-month performance period at over 14% Net Positive Electricity.