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How an Energy Management Plan will help Peters Township Save $66,451 in Annual Energy Costs: Saving money and energy with a municipal energy audit |
In this economy, it can be a challenge to find ways to cut spending without cutting jobs or programs. Municipalities across Pennsylvania are tasked with providing quality services to their constituents while adhering to a strict (and often dwindling) budget.
One innovative way that local governments are meeting this challenge is by developing an energy management plan. They are able to control rising energy costs by implementing energy conservation and efficiency measures. In some cases, local governments are installing renewable energy systems such as solar and geothermal to generate energy on-site and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
Peters Township, located in southwestern PA, is one such municipality that has been planning for the future. Like most local governments, Peters Township Council knew that they were spending too much money on energy. Rather than addressing the problem by making haphazard repairs, Peters Township opted to invest in a comprehensive energy management plan. An analysis of each of the Township’s seven target facilities offered a comparative overview of existing energy costs and inefficiencies. More importantly, it provided the Township with detailed recommendations for implementing energy improvements that would offer significant return on investment.
Of the energy improvements that were identified and recommended by Envinity, twenty were emphasized as being financially feasible to implement within the next two years. By implementing the suggested energy improvements, Peters Township is prepared to reduce their annual utility costs by 31% — an annual savings of $66,451 and a simple payback of just over six years.
Financial incentives a driving factor
Paul Lauer, the Assistant Township Manager at Peters Township, explains, “Energy costs are a significant portion of the expenses of the Township. As energy costs continue to escalate, they’re becoming a bigger share of our operational costs. We pursued a municipal energy audit in an effort to mitigate those costs.”
An energy audit provided the Township with the following detailed information:
- A comprehensive list for each building audited of recommended energy investments with the best paybacks and savings to investment ratios
- A detailed list of low-cost opportunities for energy savings for each building audited
- A strategic energy management plan highlighting recommendations for energy improvements that could be implemented within the next two years
- Current and projected energy use and cost per square foot for each building audited
- Annual electric and natural gas consumption/costs for each building audited
- A comprehensive analysis of existing energy inefficiencies for each building audited
- A list of potential energy rebates, incentives, grants, and other funding opportunities
- Renewable energy opportunities and feasibility
- Energy management strategies and how they can be implemented
- Inventory and description of existing conditions
Lauer says, “When we look at what we are paying for energy, we can see that what we are paying is increasing. And it’s a significant sum. We had a common recognition that this was an area that needed to be addressed. Council’s position was that the energy audit was an investment with potential for significant return. It was recognized as a necessity, and there was agreement as to the need to allocate the money for it.”
Finding a municipal energy audit team that met the Township’s needs
Peters Township contracted Envinity, an energy conservation and management company with experience working with municipalities across Pennsylvania, to perform their energy audit. Lauer says, “We’re a different kind of customer than a commercial client. We were looking for a firm that had proven results in the area of energy audits, who had experience working with municipalities.”
Lauer also emphasized that Peters Township was looking for specific directives as a result of the energy audit. “We didn’t just want a general understanding of our energy usage. We knew that Envinity would deliver a plan that we could use to actually implement recommendations, along with associated payback for each recommendation.”
Peters Township arranged to have seven buildings across the municipality audited. This provided the Township with a side-by-side comparison of which buildings had the highest energy costs per square foot. The audit allowed the Township to identify and prioritize potential energy conservation measures across all of the buildings surveyed, taking into consideration feasibility, payback period, and initial cost. The audit also offered suggestions that would allow for reinvestment of savings into future Township energy upgrades.
For each building surveyed, the audit uncovered some surprising findings:
The Public Library (Annual energy costs: $58,685)
Inspection of the building envelope of the Public Library revealed that there was significant air infiltration. In looking at the cumulative effects of small gaps in the seams of the walls, Envinity determined that the total area is equivalent to approximately 44 square feet. Improper flashing details led to water damage in the building, and improper insulation, which led to air leakage, contributed to roof damage.
Recommendations for the library included air sealing all seams in the building envelope. The investment would offer a 5.3-year payback period, saving $5,775 in energy costs annually. Retrocommissioning of the HVAC system would offer a payback period of 3.9 years, saving a projected $5,697 in annual energy costs.
Envinity recommended other energy improvements for the library (including installing variable frequency drives on hot water pumps and upgrading existing boilers to high efficiency pulse condensing boilers. Among a number of low-cost energy improvement opportunities, Envinity also recommended that the Township install a time clock on the library domestic hot water pump).
The Community Recreational Center (Annual energy costs: $75,516)
With energy costs at $1.96 per square foot, the Community Recreational Center was one of the costliest of all of Peters Township’s facilities to maintain. The energy audit uncovered a construction issue across the entire building envelope that was at the root of these high costs.
Lauer recalls, “Envinity found structural deficiencies —in new buildings, even —that related to energy inefficiencies such as loss of heat to the building. We weren’t aware of these deficiencies, and we take some pride in being attuned to our own structures. With the energy audit, they brought a closer look and a different look at things that we see all the time, and were able to see deficiencies that had escaped us.” Envinity projected that air sealing of this area, which would cost an estimated $10,700, would yield annual energy savings of $15,200.
Among other improvement opportunities, the audit also discovered that by retro-commissioning the HVAC system for the Recreational Center to match occupancy patterns, Peters Township would save approximately $7,694 in annual energy costs.
Public Works (Annual energy costs $19,243)
An audit of the Public Works building uncovered an insufficient air barrier below the building insulation. The purpose of the barrier is to stop warm air from leaking out through the roof, and prevent hot moist air from entering the building during the summer.
Envinity recommended air sealing the penetrations in the building envelope. This energy improvement would pay for itself in a little more than 5 years. Upgrading the lighting systems of the building would save approximately $1,700 each year in energy costs and offer a six-year payback.
Township Building (Annual energy costs $22,752)
The three-story Township building has had several additions and renovations. The energy audit revealed that the original exterior walls and the roof were not insulated. The additions were insulated; however, in many areas the insulation had been penetrated with plumbing and had not been air sealed. In other areas, insulation was not air sealed at the seams. The audit uncovered several mechanical issues as well for the building, including inefficiencies with the core heating and cooling systems.
Envinity recommended several energy improvements for the Township Building, ranging from fluorescent lighting upgrades, air sealing, a complete mechanical system upgrade, and installation of a solar PV system. For each recommendation, Peters Township was given a detailed description of the work, the projected energy savings, the projected payback, and a savings-to-investment ratio. The Township was also given 15 low-cost energy savings opportunities. Each of these offered payback periods of less than 3 years.
Police Station (Annual energy costs $13,378)
The energy audit of the Police Station revealed that by air sealing the building attic and adding 2” to 4” of additional insulation, the Township could save $540 in annual energy costs. This investment would pay for itself in less than two years.
Ten low-cost opportunities, including air sealing gaps along the garage ceiling, repairing the faucet in the women’s room, sealing exhaust and supply ducts, and replacing T8 bulbs as they fail with 28W T8 bulbs, were also recommended.
Fire Stations (Combined annual energy costs $23,216)
The energy audit of the two Fire Stations determined that roughly 15% of electricity was used by the lighting system. Envinity recommended taking advantage of incentives for replacing T12 lighting systems through Allegheny Power’s Act 129 program. A lighting upgrade would save the Township $2,100 annually, and pay for itself within 3.3 years if the Township were to take advantage of the incentive program. Envinity also recommended air sealing the perimeter and all penetrations for the attic space above the garage.
Overall Impressions of the Energy Audit and Management Plan
Peters Township received more valuable insight to the inefficiencies of their facilities than they had anticipated. Lauer recalls, “Envinity came prepared. They pointed to problems in buildings that we didn’t know existed simply by looking at plan reviews prior to coming on site. They gave us practical, engineered solutions, as opposed to solutions that may have been flashy but were not necessarily appropriate for us. Their solutions made sense.”
Peters Township is acting immediately on the recommendations from the energy audit. Lauer continues, “Envinity provided us with an ROI schedule. This outlined a series of projects that we could implement that would have an ROI of 3 years or less. Council has decided to implement all of these. We didn’t want to wait when we could be taking advantage of savings opportunities immediately.”
Lauer was also impressed that the energy improvements would not cause disruption to Township staff or to area constituents. He says, “The energy efficiency recommendations that we are implementing allow people to do their work without inconveniencing them.” By implementing energy recommendations from their municipal energy audit, Peters Township is on a path to better control operating expenses, lower tax burdens, and offer a wider selection of community services.
