PHS Warmed by Updated Heating SystemBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:17AM / Monday, April 07, 2025 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A new climate control system has brought Pittsfield High School into the 21st century.
On Tuesday, Building Maintenance Director Brian Filiault reported that the building's new gas powered steam boilers are a far cry from the former 1930s converted locomotive engines. The about $3 million replacement began in June 2024 and was completed by the end of the year.
"They have full power capacity, but we're probably using 30 percent of what they can actually produce right now," Filiault told the School Building Needs Commission.
The following day, he and some of his staff were to be trained on how to operate the equipment, but "they are running, everything is perfect, we've had no issues with these boilers."
He said the boiler room went from a "cave to a Hilton," and the commission voted to plan a site visit. Superintendent Joseph Curtis agreed, reporting that for the first time in his tenure, he hasn't gotten complaints about the heat.
"Most times, no news is good news," he said.
The previous year, the building's climate control was upgraded to a digital system and new steam traps were installed, costing around $2.5 million.
"We did all these new controls so we can actually control the temperatures in the rooms," Filiault explained. "The two things came together, and it's a great marriage between the two of them."
The old nearly 100-year-old boilers were original to the building, extremely inefficient, and expensive to maintain. One was non-operational, and another was severely compromised.
The project was originally set to be paid by American Rescue Plan Act funds but last year, the City Council authorized the borrowing of $3 million for it. After looking at the numbers, it was clear that the allocated $1 million in ARPA funds would not be enough.
It began with an asbestos abatement, and when the temperatures dropped, a temporary, external boiler heated PHS while work was underway.
"It was kind of a balancing act because we needed to get the new boilers up and running before the real cold set in," Filiault said, adding that the temporary boiler would have a hard time heating the building in frigid weather.
Commissioner Judy Gitelson said the project is "wonderful," adding that she worked at PHS for almost 20 years and froze during the winter for a good part of it.
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