Hagerstown's streetlight project

We visited Hagerstown last summer and wanted to share their successful project with you.  Maybe the bright, sunny photos we snapped back then will brighten your winter day!

Hagerstown used its $61,111 Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) to replace 62 streetlights along State Road 38, which is a main corridor through the town. The previous streetlights were replaced with 62, 129 Watt LED Roadway Luminaries.

As a result, they’ve seen some good energy savings. They’ve saved 9,739 kWh and $838.38 in energy costs so far.  Not only are the streetlights adding the ambiance of this pretty town, it is also keeping its pedestrians and drivers safe while being energy efficient!

In a nutshell: It is rewarding when you can both literally and figuratively brighten a community’s day! Or in this case, I guess it is literally brightening their night.

Hagerstown received an Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) award from the Indiana Office of Energy Development in 2010.  The EECBG program is funded through the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Custom Coating's EECBG project

Custom Coating in Auburn (all the way up in Dekalb County) had no previous experience with grants, but decided that our Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) would certainly be worth their time. And was it ever! This company had a total project cost of $26,741.16 and received $13,807.58 in EECBG funds for their lighting project.

Four different buildings were retrofitted for more energy efficient lighting. Fifty-three (53) H.I.D. fixtures were retrofitted with forty-five (45) T5 fixtures and eighty-four (84) T12 fixtures were retrofitted with forty-seven (47) T5 fixtures.

The best news is that within months, their eletric consumption was reduced by more than 30,000 kWh, obviously saving the company money as well.

 

Double whammy for New Castle’s EECBG award

The City of New Castle was a recipient of $196,810 in EECBG funding back in 2010.   The City used the funding to replace an inefficient boiler and chiller with more efficient equipment and to retrofit and replace lighting fixtures in several city-owned buildings.

New Castle is no stranger to receiving grants, either. They’ve received several other grants to improve the city and late last year, we announced them as a participating community in our Community Energy Plan program.

Keep up the good work, New Castle!

Farmersburg and EECBG

Like many small communities in Indiana, Farmersburg is always looking for ways to save on energy costs and better serve the community. With over $90,000 in grant money, Farmersburg was able to help take steps towards their energy savings goals by improving the Town Hall and municipal buildings that include the Town Garage and wastewater treatment facility.

Using EECBG funds, the Town Hall/Garage facility was retrofitted with 3 new exterior entry doors, double-pane windows, insulation, and new higher efficiency, Energy-Star rated HVAC equipment. In addition to the benefit offered by more energy efficient products, the insulation and replacement windows and doors serve to reduce the amount of air leakage from the existing units. These improvements also make the building a more comfortable place to work. The municipal sewage treatment facility (WWTP) was retrofitted with improved insulation, new windows, and higher efficiency, Energy Star rated HVAC equipment.

These improvements are estimated to represent a combined $14,650 in annual savings in energy expenditures for the town. Both pre- and post-improvement energy audits were performed for the project. WIN Energy, the local power provider, offers these audits to as a service to its customers. These audits have allowed Farmersburg to more fully quantify the improvements achieved through the project activities.

The Town of Farmersburg received an Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant (EECBG), a program funded through the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.  EECBG is a program of the U.S. Department of Energy, administered through the Indiana Office of Energy Development.

Arcadia & Hamilton Heights School Corp. partner for energy efficiency

The Town of Arcadia, in partnership with the Hamilton Heights School Corporation (HHSC), has set forth a plan for all four school buildings to become Energy Star rated. And have they been busy!
With the help of a $350,000 EECBG award from our office, the school corporation completed phase 2 of their energy project.  This consisted of the following:  update lighting to current energy efficient technology, upgrade the HVAC, replace windows, install occupancy sensors, upgrade boiler controls, and install a dedicated heat recovery chiller with pumps and controls, among other projects.

The school anticipates a savings of $73,408/year, 973,044 kWh, 3544 dekatherms of gas, and 941 CO2 emissions equivalents.

The Town of Arcadia received an Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) award from the Indiana Office of Energy Development.  EECBG is a program of the U.S. Department of Energy, funded through the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.

Showing off Greencastle's new lights

Lighting projects always have unintended benefits. The City of Greencastle has learned this through the installation of new LED Traffic Signals and improved lighting at the Fire Department. New traffic signals have not only reduced energy consumption, but require far less maintenance. Traffic will not need to be interrupted as often to make repairs and replace worn out lights. Greencastle was also able to install pedestrian signals with a countdown feature. It's something that those of us in Indianapolis may take for granted as a normal feature of most signals, but is a newer feature to Greencastle that will hopefully add to the safety of the community.

The second part of the project was lighting upgrades at the Fire Department. Existing T12 fluorescent light fixtures were retrofitted with new T5 fluorescent light fixtures and new energy saving electronic ballasts that allow firefighters to see better throughout the building. Highbay Metal Halide light fixtures in the garage bays were replaced with new LED light fixtures providing increased light. And in the interior new lighting and occupancy sensors will aid in the energy savings.

It is estimated that these projects will pay for themselves in less than a year.

The City of Greencastle received an Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant (EECBG), funded through the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.  EECBG is a program of the U.S. Department of Energy and is administered by the Indiana Office of Energy Development.

Back to Health Wellness installs geothermal

Dr. Kirkham at Back to Health Wellness in LaPorte knew he needed to upgrade his old inefficient HVAC system. After consulting a local contractor to get a quote, they asked if had ever considered a geothermal system. They had not, but after a little research and an evaluation of his building he decided this was the system for him.

Geothermal heating and cooling uses the relatively constant temperature of the earth to heat and cool homes and businesses with 40% to 70% less energy than conventional systems. While conventional furnaces and boilers burn a fuel to generate heat, geothermal heat pumps use electricity to simply move heat from the earth into buildings, allowing much higher efficiencies. The most efficient fuel-burning heater can reach efficiencies around 95%, but a geothermal heat pump can move up to 4 units of heat for every unit of electricity needed to power the system, resulting in a practical equivalence of over 400% efficiency.

With a total cost of $57,000, the system was more expensive, but the savings and low maintenance made the geothermal system worth the extra cost. In total three inefficient 30 year old furnaces and air conditioners (one did not even work) were replaced with geothermal heating cooling system. In addition to this, inefficient water heaters were replaced with tankless water heaters. It is estimated that Back to Health Wellness has saved almost $9,000 and the geothermal system will pay for itself in around 6 years.

Back to Health Wellness Center received an Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant (EECBG), funded through the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.  EECBG is a program of the U.S. Department of Energy and is administered by the Indiana Office of Energy Development.