The Painesville City School District is expected to save on electricity costs in the coming years thanks to a grant-supported energy efficiency project.
The district is working this spring to finish converting light fixtures at Harvey High School and Heritage Middle School to LED lighting from existing fluorescent lighting. District Operations Director Ivan Salgado recently told the school board that after the upgrades, Harvey will be 99 percent converted and Heritage will be 35-40 percent converted.
That will bring the district to nearly half of its lighting fixtures having been converted, he added.
Salgado said that the changes will save the district about $45,000 to $46,000 per year on electricity costs. He added that the amount of energy usage that the district will save is equivalent to the amount of energy that 30 houses use each year.
“In about four, four and a half years, we would have regained what we’re spending now upfront on this project,” he said.
Salgado said that the work also includes the district’s auditorium and the gyms at both schools.
“That work typically is a little more difficult or challenging to complete in-house with our own personnel just through the lack of access and type of fixture it is, so we included those in this project,” he said.
Salgado received positive feedback from a coach and said that the new fixtures provide more lighting.
He said that the district received $200,000 in a state grant and spent $237,000 of its own funds. Massachusetts-based company Ameresco helped with the grant process.
“When I came across Ameresco I realized they had the complete package,” Salgado said in an email. “Unlike some companies, we had zero upfront cost. They surveyed, designed and implemented a plan alongside me. They have worked with hundreds of districts across the country and were very helpful in acquiring the state grant.”
He added that the district has a 10-year warranty on the work.
“Being energy efficient helps stretch the dollar to complete many other needed projects,” Salgado said. “We also have reduced many hours worth of labor internally, at both schools on top of the cost savings due to the reduction of energy consumption.”
He told the board that the project would likely be finished around the end of March or early April.
