Fort Wayne & NE Indiana News

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Government

City Utilities Wins State Grant

Fort Wayne City Utilities will receive a $100,000 grant from the Indiana Office of Energy Development (OED) as part of the Community Conservation Challenge

Beginning early next year, City Utilities will use the funding to cover a portion of the replacement of an aging heating and air conditioning unit, improved controls and high efficiency lighting upgrades in the lab building at our Three Rivers Filtration Plant.

These improvements will include the replacement of a 45-year-old heating and air conditioning system, light fixture replacements and an energy management control system for the building.

The existing HVAC system has had many maintenance issues and was costly not only to repair but to operate, as well. The new HVAC will be about half the size of the current system and will reduce electricity use and save money. It will be controlled by a computerized system that will sense room occupancy and adjust to the appropriate heating, cooling and lighting needs.

The improvements will result in a 53 percent reduction in cooling needs and a 60 percent reduction in total energy consumption.

The project will be bid at a Board of Works meeting next month and work will be completed by the end of spring 2016.

Project by the Numbers

· Improvements will save an average of nearly $31,000 per year on energy costs

o Nearly $310,000 over the next 10 years

· Energy Units Saved

o 121,049 kWh electricity saved annually

o 21,478 Therms heating (natural gas) saved annually

· Saving 221 metric tons of CO2 emissions – equivalent to:

o 26,989 gallons of gasoline burned (43 average cars)

o 60 metric tons of carbon

o Or annual CO2 emissions from 19 average sized American households