HODGDON, Maine — An energy savings plan to reduce SAD 70’s carbon footprint and consumption of heating oil has experienced mixed results for the school district.
In the summer of 2013, SAD 70 agreed to purchase four “burner boosters” after hearing a presentation from Houlton-based Harbison Heating and Plumbing. The move was designed as a way for the district to cut down on the amount of heating oil needed during the long winter months.
During the budget process, the school district borrowed $65,766 to purchase four burners to be installed on their existing furnaces, two each at Mill Pond School and Hodgdon High School.
SAD 70 Superintendent Scott Richardson updated his board on the heat savings plan during a Jan. 12 school board meeting.
In the first year of the plan, the district used 4,000 fewer gallons of heating oil with the burner boosters, which are designed to increase the efficiency of a traditional oil-fired furnace by optimizing the fuel-to-air ratio inside a heating system. Another benefit is that the boosters also reduce the amount of emissions into the air.
The 4,000 fewer gallons resulted in a net savings of $12,800 for the school district that year.
This past fall, however, the district discovered that the seals on several of the boosters were failing. Complicating the problem, the district’s heating service contractor, Honeywell, is unable to provide service on the burner boosters because they are not familiar with the product.
Therefore, the district had to purchase additional boosters to have on hand so that if one failed, it could simply be swapped out with another to keep the schools warm for students. The defective units must then be sent to the Massachusetts-based company that manufactures them for repair. The district is charged a fee by Honeywell to perform this swap.
All of these additional steps have eaten into the cost savings, Richardson said.
“Until some time passes, we won’t really know (how much the district is saving),” he said.
In other agenda items, the board:
• Set Monday, Jan. 26 as the date for a facilities feasibility study review with representatives of Bunker and Savage.
• Welcomed its newest member, Laura Geiger of Ludlow. The school board now has a full contingency of members after two years of struggling to find individuals interested in serving.
• Accepted the retirement of Vivian Hynick, a grade 5 teacher with the district with more than 25 years of experience.
The next regular meeting of the SAD 70 school board is Monday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m.
