The West Windsor Township Council has approved the purchase of more than $17,000 worth of light fixtures for the municipal building and senior center that are estimated to reduce its impact on the environment and save the township money in the future.
The approval from council on December 21 came less than a month after PSE&G conducted an energy audit through its Small Business Direct Install Program, which is free for PSE&G businesses and governments that use under 200 kilowatt hours of energy.
Consulting groups from PSE&G had looked at factors such as the type of light bulbs, switches, and motors on equipment that the township was using.
The recommendation that the township endorse two contracts with PSE&G — the first for $4,482 to install energy efficient fixtures at the senior center and one for $13,479 to install the fixtures at the municipal building — came as a result of the audit, said Business Administrator Robert Hary.
“That represents only 20 percent of the actual cost of doing the upgrade,” said Hary. “The other 80 percent is picked up by PSE&G.”
According to the resolution approved by the council, the 80 percent rebate of the materials and labor costs for the installation of the fixtures is part of the Small Business Direct Install Program.
“With those modifications, we’ll have paid back those capital costs for the installation between two and two-and-a-half years,” said Hary. “That’s the reason we went with it. After we’re done paying the capital costs, we can expect savings of about $10,000.”
More specifically, the fixtures at the senior center will achieve a $1,743 per year electric use cost saving, while the fixtures at the municipal building will result in a $9,600 per year cost savings.
According to the resolution relating to the senior center, the light fixtures there are estimated to reduce the production of green house gases, including 19,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, 32 pounds of nitrogen oxide, and 64 pounds of sulfur dioxide. “The green house gas reductions are estimated to be equivalent to the planting of three acres of trees or the elimination of one motor vehicle,” the resolution states.
With regard to the municipal building, the township is estimated to reduce its production of green house gases including 74,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, 124 pounds of nitrogen oxide, 428 pounds of sulfur dioxide, and 2 grams of mercury — equivalent to the planting of 12 acres of trees, or the elimination of six motor vehicles.
The light fixtures are just one part of the overall energy audit, Hary said. “The audit included all of our municipal buildings and the fire station as well,” he said. “These are just the first two components of the program. We will be phasing the rest in over the next few months.” He said the light fixtures will be installed over the next two to four weeks.
