Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – With energy costs ever on the rapid rise, one public facility has shed new light on savings for the city and its taxpayers.
The Forum, located on Mechanic St. in Presque Isle, recently completed an upgrade to its lighting, concluding over a year of evaluation and work at the site.
“We started over a year ago, speaking with Honeywell about a mini retrofit program. They came in, assessed the energy use of the facility and determined the improvements that could be made and the timeframe needed to do so,” said Jim Kaiser, Forum director. Items checked included lights and the boiler.
“With an upgrade, it was determined the energy saved would pay back (the cost of the upgrade) in an estimated period of nine years,” he said.
Kaiser said the type of building and the way the structure is used limited how energy savings could be achieved.
“With the Forum there are very few ways to find savings. Basically, it was just the lights. Our boiler was determined to be 85 percent efficient,” said Kaiser.
The lights, on the other hand, dated back about 30 years and were in need of updating.
“We were able to use the same fixtures – put in new ballasts and bulbs – took out T12 technology and replaced with Super T8 in the offices,” he said.
A once shadowy arena now is a much brighter place for visitors, thanks to upgraded lighting in the heart of the building.
“In the arena we had 1,000 watt metal halide – took those out and put in T5 fluorescents that are less than half the wattage. We went from 1,000 to less than 500. We also put in motion sensors in areas like locker rooms and storage areas,” explained Kaiser.
Besides being lower in wattage, the arena lights have an added benefit, according to Kaiser.
“The 1,000 watt lights put a huge heat pressure on the ice. You could stand under then and feel the heat. The upgrade should save on keeping the ice. The ice should stay harder,” said Kaiser, noting that savings wasn’t put into the equation. “This makes us a much greener building.”
Kaiser said there could be added savings when it comes to water usage as well.
“There may be a savings on the amount of water put down – compressors won’t have to work so hard to compensate for the lights’ heat,” he said.
According to Kaiser, the improvements are expected to save the Forum over $10,000 a year in energy costs.
“We’re looking at saving about $12,000 a year. The payback on the cost of the changeover is closer to five years,” said Kaiser.
The upgrade was accomplished with minimal changes required.
“There was no rewiring of the building. New fixtures replaced the old. Antiquated items were replaced with updated, more efficient items,” said Kaiser. “What was done should last well into the future.”
Contributed photo
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