Grant From Knorr-Bremse Global Care North America Helps Children’s Home Stay Cool

The Casa Hogar Esperanza children’s home in Acuña, Mexico. (Photo courtesy of Knorr-Bremse Global Care North America)

Acuña, Mexico, is one hot place during the summer, with temperatures often exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit. A local children’s home, Casa Hogar Esperanza, found the cost of running its air conditioning units to be prohibitive after a local company that had been paying for the electricity changed leadership and ended its charitable support. The home tried to keep the children cool by using the units only sparingly.

Enter Knorr-Bremse Global Care North America (KBGCNA) — an independent organization operating as the North American arm of a global nonprofit organization, Knorr-Bremse Global Care.

KBGCNA contributed $107,350 in grant funding toward a 136-panel rooftop photovoltaic system to generate electricity for the home. The Bendix Foundation, directed by Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC (Bendix), contributed $28,200 to the project. Additionally, Bendix donated the solar panels, which reduced the overall project cost by $24,000. The grants funded the purchase and installation of the system and transformer, along with maintenance for 20 years, insurance, and remote oversight.

“The system has begun going online in stages,” according to a press release. “Once the home can use 100 percent of the energy produced by the panels, the system is calculated to reduce electricity costs by almost 90 percent while enabling the operation of the HVAC units. Average monthly savings are expected to be about $2,500. The energy generation is so significant that the units will essentially run for free.”

“Our support for Casa Hogar Esperanza and its children goes back many years, and we’re pleased to help meet their need for cost-efficient cooling,” Maria Gutierrez, president of KBGCNA and senior director of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) at Bendix, said. “The effort aligns with KBGCNA’s larger mission to contribute to the well-being of underserved populations in the surrounding communities of Knorr-Bremse’s North American companies. Making a positive difference in the communities we call home is incredibly important.”

The release added: “Knorr-Bremse is the global market leader for braking systems and a leading supplier of other safety-critical rail and commercial vehicle systems. It’s also the parent company of Avon, OH-based Bendix, which manages its own foundation in Mexico and is a significant employer in Acuña, where it has operated a major manufacturing complex for 35 years.”

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