While there is not much Barry King, facility manager for Cheshire County, N.H., can do about the rising price of oil, he has proven there is a lot he can do to help the county reduce the energy it uses. Since initiating an energy and water conservation project in June 2004, King is helping cut the county's utility costs and is saving approximately $85,000 annually.

In the last three years, the county's cost per barrel of oil has increased from $34 to $74. “With these prices, it's easy to see why it was critical that we find ways to conserve fuel use across our facilities,” King says.

To combat rising energy costs, Cheshire County contracted with Morristown, N.J.-based Honeywell Building Solutions to identify ways to reduce consumption and improve efficiency throughout county facilities. An initial audit examined expenditures and facility operations, taking into account utility use, as well as electrical, plumbing and mechanical systems. The audit identified the areas where energy-efficient improvements and other upgrades would be most effective. The improvements, which were implemented between July 2004 and January 2005, included upgrades to boilers and other heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, retrofits to improve water conservation and use of a building management system to centrally control all county facilities.

A heat recovery project at a 150-bed nursing home in Westmoreland, for example, is expected to take a big bite out of the facility's $160,000 annual heating bill this winter. A heat exchanger installed in November 2004 recaptures heat from the laundry room and kitchen and puts it back into the building, reducing the amount of oil that is needed by the boilers by 64 percent.

Other energy-saving projects, implemented between July and October 2004, include sealing and weather stripping six county buildings, and adding hot-water pipe insulation and fuel oil pre-heaters at three facilities. In addition, by replacing existing boiler and chiller system motors with energy-efficient motors at the nursing home, courthouse and wastewater plant, the county anticipates increasing efficiency by an average of 10 percent to 15 percent.

The county also replaced its 16-year-old building control system with an integrated management system. Implemented between July 2004 and January 2005, the Enterprise Buildings Integrator (EBI) combines building operations — such as HVAC, lighting and access control — into one platform. With EBI, King can control and monitor energy management systems across all the facilities from his desktop computer. He can set back temperatures when the buildings are not in use and identify maintenance issues before they become problems.

The county also installed low-flush toilets and low-volume aerators on sinks at its Westmoreland complex, which includes the nursing home and 20 assisted living units. The upgrades and retrofits cut water consumption in half. In the fourth quarter of 2004, the complex reduced water consumption by 1 million gallons — 10 percent of the county's annual water use. Because the county treats its own water, reducing consumption cuts costs and extends the life of its water and wastewater systems.

The project included energy-efficient upgrades to seven of the county's eight buildings. Completed under a 15-year, $1.2 million performance contract, the upgrades were made at no cost to county taxpayers because they are funded by the guaranteed energy savings they are expected to generate. If the actual energy savings do not meet the estimate, the company will make up the difference. One year into the project, Cheshire County is pleased with the projects' early results.