More than 1,500 fixtures changed! Town saves $24,000 by making switch to energy-efficient lights

The Town of Halton Hills has realized an annual savings of $24,406 after retrofitting some of its facilities with energy-efficient lighting. Buildings retrofitted were the Civic Centre, Georgetown Indoor Pool, Mold-Masters SportsPlex, Halton Hills Cultural Centre Gallery and Library and Georgetown Memorial Arena-- more than 1,500 fixtures. The retrofit cost $72,000 with the payback expected from the savings within three years. Council agreed at its December meeting to continue the program, retrofitting buildings at Cedarvale Community Centre, Prospect Park Pavilion, Acton Indoor Pool and Central Works Yard. The total cost for the retrofit of these buildings is $14,300 to be paid by Halton Hills Hydro. It's expected there will be annualized savings of $7,000, with payback in just over two years. A $2,000 retrofit was done at the Acton Library and realized a savings of $2,000 within the same year. "The rule of thumb I used to use is that if you could pay it back in seven years it was worthwhile for investing, and we're getting our payback within those years," said Wards 3&4 Regional Councillor Jane Fogal. "It's clear to everybody by doing these energy retrofits that we are in fact saving money and saving energy." Fogal also requested a future staff report on all of the Town's environmental initiatives to be used in the upcoming Town's strategic planning. "There's been lots of things we have been doing (road salt reduction and tree planting), and there's more we can look at in the future," she said. Audits were also done at Town facilities where the hydro is paid for by the tenant: Ambulance Building, cost of retrofit $678 but savings of $957, Norval Community Centre, retrofit cost $2,600, savings $1,400 and Cedarvale Cottage, retrofit cost $1,300 and savings $450. The lighting consultant, Mercury Lighting, recommended no changes to sports field lighting as the light levels may not be sufficient for ensuring safety of the players. However, a solar pathway lighting installation continues to be monitored for its impact and savings. Approximately 1,200 streets lights have been replaced with a more energy-efficient high-pressure sodium lamp with the assistance of an Ontario Hydro 25 per cent subsidy. Traffic lights installed since 2002 are LED units with payback savings to be realized within two years. The remaining 15 intersections will cost about $5,000 each to convert and they will be included in future capital budgets.