Situated on an 18-acre site about seven miles from the main Montana State University-Billings campus, the MSU-Billings College of Technology includes more than 110,000 sq ft of classroom, laboratory, and shop space. The college annually serves more than 500 full-time and part-time students. Additionally, professional training and continuing education classes are provided to 1,000 individuals annually from many different industries.
More than 20 years old, the school's rooftop units were in dire need of replacement. Also, the school wanted to replace all of the controls in the facility with open technology LonWorks(r) controls, to better manage energy costs. The College of Technology's maintenance supervisor, Ray Carl, wanted to be able to control all the devices via the Internet, but he also had to meet stringent state budgetary guidelines.