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The Town of Chapel Hill has recently completed a project to <br />install a new HVAC system in Town Hall, effectively bringing <br />down average daily energy consumption 39 percent in the <br />building. <br />This project is part of a performance contract that the town has <br />with a contractor to improve energy efficiency in the town's <br />three most energy- consuming buildings - Town Hall, the <br />Homestead Aauatic Center and the Communitv Center. <br />PEALTHIEsT CHALLENGE <br />I -f-,; ,- ,........ ­f; r; .. ,-..- ,-,.. -. ,-. -..... r F.. r fl- - n I -. ,-. ,-. ; _ _ -....J n... I .... ,.,. --f <br />Services Department of Chapel Hill John Richardson said that the <br />town has saved even more in energy costs than they had <br />originally projected. <br />"What we're seeing in our first year, based on the results, is that <br />the project is outperforming our expectations," said Richardson. <br />"We have saved $75,000 in just electricity and gas utility costs <br />alone." <br />The contract guarantees that the project must pay back the <br />town's investment over time, which was originally estimated to <br />be $70,000 in savings per year. <br />Improvements to the Homestead Aquatic Center and the <br />community center have included pool mechanical system <br />upgrades and LED lighting. <br />Richardson said that these improvements have also led to an <br />immediate reduction to the town's carbon emissions. <br />"For year one, the town has saved approximately 570,000 <br />kilowatt hours of electricity for just these three buildings, which <br />translates into about 484 metric tons of carbon emissions <br />avoided," said Richardson. "That's roughly the same thing as <br />taking 90 passenger vehicles off the road for a year or powering <br />about 45 single family homes for a year." <br />The contract requires the town and the contractor to continue to <br />monitor and track energy efficiency for 15 years, which is the <br />projected payback time on this investment. <br />Related <br />Pa.$Ira.$sia'e Scare <br />Click here to Iente- <br />2 ' � i�*(W <br />ME OW <br />inieve O <br />a <br />HII�UI someone <br />etgents are really W01 � <br />In Chapei Ili-Carr.or , <br />Frianidin Strec <br />