What's Working: Energy Audit + Lighting Swap = Savings

photo by Federico Bottos on Unsplash

It's right in the name -- NH Saves. Lara Berry, director of Langdon Public Library in Newington, has been pleasantly surprised to see how quickly the savings are adding up. They did their NH Saves energy audit last year and hired World Energy as their contractor. Challenges included: length of the project (they signed the contract in July and finished in December) and bulky items left in the library between phases. For their library, the biggest efficiency discovered was lighting, because their HVAC was already very efficient. The recommended LED lighting has been an adjustment because it’s a brighter light in a different tone than their previous lighting. 

The bright side (you see what I did there?) is that they have enjoyed a sharp decrease in spending on electricity. Lara explains, “They estimated we would earn back our share of the project in 2.5 years, and that our monthly savings would be 18% after completion, but we are on track to earn it back in 1.9 years and our monthly savings has been 34%! So far this year it has saved us approximately $3800 in electric costs. Just from lights!” She is happy to answer any questions other libraries might have about the process.

Note that the energy assessment itself is likely free, depending on your town's utility.