Fed grant gives Lynn gas

LYNN – A $788,100 federal grant will help pay to convert the heating systems in seven city schools from fuel oil to natural gas, a changeover that could save the School Department more than $70,000 annually.The City Council this week voted to use the U.S. Department of Energy block grant to upgrade the heating systems at the Thurgood Marshall Middle School and at the Harrington, Ingalls, Aborn, Brickett, Hood and Lincoln-Thomson elementary schools.”These funds are part of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007,” said Michael Donovan, director of the city Department of Inspectional Services.According to Donovan, the city was offered the federal money and will be reimbursed as the project progresses. “Over the next six months, the contractors will convert the school burners from fuel oil to natural gas,” he said, explaining that each school has two boilers that will remain in place, while the work involves changing the attached burners to accommodate the changeover to natural gas.Since the cold weather season is fast approaching, the work schedule is to convert one boiler in each school and, once completed, move on to the second. The contractors hired to install the high-efficiency Power Flame burners – PJ Dionne Co. for the Harrington, Ingalls and Marshall schools, and the Cranney Co. for the Aborn, Brickett, Hood and Lincoln-Thompson schools – were selected after the project was put out to bid.”The school principals will be notified whenever work is being done and the contractor employees will all be subject to CORI checks,” Donovan said.A city-commissioned study done as part of the engineering plans indicates each school will save an average $10,000 annually, the larger buildings reaping more savings than the smaller ones. The new equipment will require less maintenance, be environmentally cleaner due to its efficiency, and in most cases can be monitored remotely, according to Donovan.”In addition to the burners, we will be putting in an energy-management system that allows us to schedule the boilers to turn on and off at certain times of the day. Right now, some of the older ones have mechanical clocks and others only have switches that have to be manually turned on and off. This new system will let us control them over the Internet,” he said.Changing over to natural gas means the city no longer will be required to maintain and keep filled the 5,000 gallon oil tanks outside the school buildings, instead relying on the flow of natural gas from underground pipes. When the project is done, the seven schools will have standardized burners, which simplifies maintenance.”The burners have a 20-25 year lifespan and the payback on this project will be immediate,” said Donovan. “The School Department pays for fuel out of its budget, so that is where the money will be saved and they can use it for other things they need.”An oil-to-natural gas changeover pilot program was conducted at the Callahan Elementary School with good results, he said, noting that the actual heating systems vary by building, with some dependent on steam radiators, others on forced hot water. “In some of the older buildings, the exhaust fans run 24-7, lose heat and have to be shut down manually. It’s inefficient because these schools are not open all that much,” he said.