Saugus searching for energy savings

SAUGUS – Town Manager Andrew Bisignani is hoping to save a few bucks by shoring up some of the energy seeping out of town-owned buildings.Bisignani said he is looking into an Energy Management System that would include a survey of all the buildings to determine the most pressing energy issues and not only make recommendations to rectify the situation but also pay for them.”They’ll look at the heating system, windows, boilers, HVAC, insulation, roofs, even lighting,” he said.The company then recommends what should be replaced, modified, repaired or rehabilitated and figures the cost difference of the repairs.The upside to the program is it costs the town very little and in the end should save at least a small bundle.Bisignani said the energy management company actually pays for any energy efficient upgrades or replacement equipment. Using a formula to figure out the cost savings versus expense, the company earmarks a percentage of the supposed savings for itself.For example, Bisignani said a boiler that is only 60 percent efficient would be replaced with one that is 95 percent efficient and a portion of any savings realized by the town would go back to the company. Bisignani added that the town would negotiate the number of years the company would receive a portion of the savings.”It would be based on the useful life of the boiler,” he said.While some might question the veracity of the plan, Bisignani said its benefits are clear.”The benefit to the town is we get much more efficient physical plants and there will be some savings,” he said.Bisignani said he would like to target two schools to start, the Belmonte Middle School and the High School, both which have been plagued with heating and cooling issues, old windows and ventilation problems.”We’ll do surveys of the boilers, ventilation systems and roofs and determine how much energy we’re losing due to inefficient components,” he said. “Then we’ll determine how much we could save by replacing the ineffectual components.”Bisignani said he’s discussed the issue with Superintendent Keith Manville and he is waiting for a proposal for the work to be drawn up.”The work will be put out to bid,” Bisignani said. “Johnson Controls will do the survey for us and once we get an actual analysis will put the work out to bid.”Bisignani said the survey does not obligate the town to do the work but he said he would like to see it follow through with the program.”I don’t think we’re getting any new schools anytime soon so we need to work with what we have,” he said. “The maintenance costs are killing us.”Bisignani said he is tired of simply reacting to issues and would like to make a proactive strike with this program.”Our resources are limited but I think this is a definite step in the right direction,” he said. “It’s certainly worthwhile looking into.”