Pulaski County is taking steps to make its buildings more efficient. Maintenance Supervisor Jeff Johnston has been working with SmartWatt to look into potential energy savings.
As the next step in that process, the county commissioners voted Monday to have SmartWatt conduct a preliminary feasibility assessment. Johnston said the idea is to see what the county can accomplish with a guaranteed energy savings contract, which would ensure that any improvements would pay for themselves. “Basically, they’re going to come in here to tell us where we can save money, how we can save money, and then after that, that’s when you guys decide if it’s a good plan to follow or not,” Johnston explained. “Energy savings has been something that we’ve looked at for the past three or four years, but we’ve never actually done it. This is an opportunity to not only upgrade the buildings that we’re in, it’ll pay for itself, and then after it’s done paying for itself, then we’re going to be that much further ahead.”
SmartWatt representative Ed Myers said that several improvements are possible. “We would not only look at lighting, but also, we’d look at the heating and air conditioning,” he said. “I know Jeff has expressed the potential of what we call a building automation system, perhaps through the county facilities, so he’s not running around adjusting temperatures. It would save him time, gain him access from one location, to all the facilities.”
Myers added that many local governments have had success with guaranteed savings contracts since the state first made them available to school corporations in 1994. “Really, the benefit is upgrading the infrastructure, saving money at the same time,” he said. “It allows you to pay for it over time with a municipal lease. I think one of the nice items associated with that: it does not constitute debt, so it won’t become part of your debt incurred. You can pay for it as you wish.”
SmartWatt’s preliminary assessment is free. Should the commissioners decide to proceed at that point, there will be a request for qualifications process to determine whether SmartWatt or another contractor would work with the county to oversee the upgrades.
