Deeerfield Sustainability
Marston Interview
This Video was made for the Deerfield Conservation Commission in support of to establish the Marston Family Town Forest.
Energy Upgrades to GBW Building
Saved Deerfield Residents $26,000 a Year and Created Local Jobs
History
In 2006 the town of Deerfield voted to form an Energy Committee. From 2006 until its demise in 2012, these Committee did energy audits and evaluated the needs for energy upgrades and potential savings.
A successful retrofit of the library was completed with increased comfort as well as savings reported. The Energy Committee found that the building with both the most need and potential for savings was the George B. White building which houses the town offices. GBW was built as a school in the fifties with an addition in the 60’s
In 2013 a multi-year energy upgrade was undertaken. The last phase, a new roof was completed in 2019. The work included new windows, air sealing, insulation and a new (insulated) roof. Electric and lighting upgrades have also been completed. The town invested about $197,000 over the course of 6 years. The energy bills have been entered into an EPA building efficiency program. These are the results:
GBD Energy Costs Down 45% Since 2013
This is a graph of oil consumption:
The above graph represents oil and gas usage since the start of the GBW energy upgrades.
The above graph represents oil and gas usage since the start of the GBW energy upgrades. It is the result of both shell and lighting upgrades to the GBW Building.
We can separate out the results of the lighting from the total upgrades:
Lighting Upgrades
The lighting work was done in 2017 at a cost of $7764.31
Electricity cost 2016: $27,738
Electricity cost 2017: $23,443
First year savings: $4,295
This is a 55% return on investment. LED lights last several decades meaning we can continue to count on the long term savings.
Conclusion
Measures taken over the past 6 years have lowered the energy demand for both oil and electricity in the GBW building by 57% with a real cost savings of 45% which is $26,000 per year. This works out to a return on investment of 13.2% on the whole project for the town.
The total cost for these renovations was $194,000
The GBW Energy Retrofits Yielded a 13.2% Return on Investment
This is a great accomplishment and the Select Board and Town of Deerfield Employees who made it happen should be congratulated! Everyone wins, The town has permanently lowered expenses, while cutting fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. This work was done by local contractors, so our investment also helped to support local jobs.
Where Do We Go From Here?
There are many other opportunities for the town to make high yield investments which cut expenses, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG). Other communities in NH are being pro-active about climate and energy. Well thought out and planned projects save money for towns, create local jobs, make communities more resilient and cut pollution.
On the next page is a proposed warrant article that lays out a process for finding and developing other cost effective projects.