jan-2018

48 49 ment if those types of repairs can’t be made, as well as building control solutions like direct digital controls on HVAC units. We’ve replaced two boilers that will provide better energy efficiency. There are ventilation improvements occurring in buildings –balancing ventilation systems to make sure that they’re running effi- ciently, and installing digital temperature set- tings, controlled automatically, to make sure that temperatures reached are targeted toward energy efficiency.” “Citywide, there were multiple variations in the way buildings were operated and their tempera- ture ranges,” Fournier adds. “This project gives us settings that are more in line with standard rec- ommendations for office spaces and equipment storage. So, across the board, we’ve got more unification with the way the buildings are heated and cooled.” “Our final agreement with AMERESCO was $4.4 million, with an estimated, annual energy savings of $215,000; operation and maintenance sav- MANKATO, MINNESOTA ings (staff and parts) of $42,500; and $187,000 in savings that are provided by the utilities for installing energy saving devices,” Johnson reports. “So, roughly, the entire project has a calcu- lated payback of 17.25 years, which is underneath the 20-year limit allowed by state law.We bonded for a portion of the project, and we will use the energy savings to pay it back.We also internally funded the other portion of it, buying the payback period to 10 years. “We’ll have to pay back the portion that we bonded, first, with the energy saved, and, once that’s complete, we’ll pay back the internal financing with the energy savings. And, at the end of that