Unitil, (www.unitil.com), a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, completed a comprehensive energy efficiency project for Lunenburg’s new middle-high school, which will save the town 455,000 kWh of electricity annually.
The electricity savings comes from LED lighting, energy efficient cooling, and variable frequency drives on fan and pump motors that were installed in the 168,000-square-foot facility that opened last fall.
Energy savings is calculated by comparing the more efficient upgrades installed to equipment that only met the current energy code.
“These energy efficiency programs exist for all customers to benefit from, and we’re thrilled the school district was able to utilize them to find such a large energy savings,” Unitil Media Relations Manager Alec O’Meara. “This saving in energy will hopefully allow the district to further invest in education opportunities for the students, something else that benefits us all.”
An $83,061 energy efficiency rebate helped offset the higher cost of purchasing the more efficient lighting, cooling and other devices. The payback period is anticipated to be 3.2 years.
Over the lifetime, estimated to be 15-years, the more efficient equipment will save the town approximately 6,825,000 kWh of electricity, which translates into a year’s worth of electricity for over 940 houses.
