The Montgomery Herald, Montgomery, W.Va.

Local News

April 24, 2007

Group presents panel with findings in energy audit

By Matthew Hill

FAYETTEVILLE — A spokesman for a local arm of the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) presented Fayette County commissioners with the results of an energy audit conducted by his group earlier this month on the historic Fayette County Courthouse.

More than 200 lights were inspected in the 112-year-old structure over the course of 90 minutes on April 4 by three members of the Lansing-based West Virginia Sustainable Communities Project and Bill Willis, a representative of the state Development Office’s Energy Efficiency office.

Their findings, unveiled Tuesday, showed that commissioners could experience annual savings of $2,917 in reduced energy and maintenance costs by making the changes proposed by the group, said project coordinator Doug Arbogast.

The audit recommends replacing the existing lamps and ballasts in the 4-foot fluorescent fixtures in the facility with T8, 32-watt lamps and four-lamp ballasts. The courthouse presently uses two-lamp ballasts.

The group also suggested that T8, 59-watt lamps and two-lamp electronic ballasts be utilized in the 8-foot fixtures. According to the report, use of 15-watt compact fluorescent lamps instead of the current incandescent lighting would recoup costs in less than three months.

Perhaps the most appealing music to commissioners’ ears was the turnaround time for recouping the overall costs associated with those changes. The estimated cost of the project is $9,986, but Willis projected that commissioners would realize the consequent savings within 3.5 years.

“It looks like a good opportunity for the commission, with a payback of under 3.5 years and a matching cost of less than $5,000,” Willis stated.

All that’s asked of county officials is $20,000 in seed money, which would be matched in kind by a Development Office grant earmarked for lighting efficiency upgrades.

Later on, he and the project’s six interns will inventory other county properties, including the sheriff’s office, the prosecuting attorney’s office, the courthouse annex and the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Building.

Commissioners, who have previously expressed support for the project, requested more time to verify the labor costs with the county maintenance director, who is presently nursing an injury. Arbogast added that commissioners said they would like to have the other county properties audited before making any decisions.

“We will probably be auditing the rest of the buildings the first week of May,” explained Arbogast. “They (commissioners) think it is a great opportunity and certainly worthwhile with the short payback and the opportunity for the matching grant.”

The endeavor is part of a year-long pollution prevention effort sponsored by DEP, the Student Conservation Association and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.

Sustainable Communities members work to educate residents in Braxton, Fayette, Gilmer and Nicholas counties about opportunities for energy and water conservation and waste reduction.

To schedule a free assessment of energy and water use or to bring the Sustainable Communities project to a community organization or business, call Arbogast at 619-0668 or e-mail him at darbogast @thesca.org.

— E-mail:

mhill@register-herald.com

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