M’boro undergoes energy audit

The Meredith News  October 30, 2008

BY ERIK ZYGMONT

EZYGMONT@SALMONPRESS.COM

MOULTONBORO — The town has undergone a lighting audit and could save about $10,000 annually in electricity costs, if it first purchases lighting upgrades. According to buildings and grounds head Andy Daigneau, the cost savings would pay for the initial upgrades in a little less than three years. An estimate from LighTec Inc., the company that conducted the audit, proposes a $57,263 for the upgrades. A $28,000 rebate is available from the town’s energy provider, New Hampshire Electric Co-op, if Moultonboro qualifies. According to the audit,the town currently pays $19,233 in lighting costs, and would pay an estimated $9,140 if the upgrades were done. On Thursday, Oct. 9, the Board of Selectmen voted to submit the LighTec proposal to NH Electric Co-op to seek the rebate. The town is still waiting to hear back, Daigneau said. He added that even with the rebate, the upgrades, at close to $30,000, would require voter approval at 2009 Town Meeting.

“At this point, I don’t have $30,000 available to me in my budget to do the retrofit,” he said. According to Daigneau, LighTec analyzed lighting systems in Town Hall, public safety building, recreation building, library, Moultonboro Neck Fire Station, and highway garage. The proposed upgrades would include changing out older light fixtures with new ones, in some cases, that accommodate highly-efficient fluorescent bulbs, Daigneau said. Some light fixtures,he added, use more bulbs than are needed for sufficient lighting. Additionally, Daigneau said, LighTec brought in a specialist to analyze the town’s HVAC systems. “At this time, they determined that the HVAC retrofits pushed the payback period too far out,” Daigneau said, noting that a three-year payback for the cost of improvements is an “acceptable period.” He said that LighTec technician Jim Grady made other recommendations, such as shutting off certain computers when not in use, to save energy costs.

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