GreenStep City Best Practices: Buildings and Lighting
Efficient Existing Public Buildings No. 1
Benchmark energy and water usage, identify savings opportunities in consultation with state programs, utilities and others to implement cost-effective energy and sustainability improvements.
For no/low cost maintenance and operational changes, see Energy Star's Energy Treasure Hunt, a 31-page guidebook on how to organize and execute a 2-3 day event that engages employees in identifying low-cost energy savings opportunities from behavioral, operational, and maintenance actions. To optimize costs/benefits, the quick payback of lighting retrofits is often best paired with additional/longer payback equipment changes (action 1.3) to increase the ultimate savings to a city by facilitating funding of 95%, as opposed to 75%, of all potential energy conservation measures.
WaterSense at Work: Best Management Practices for Commercial and Institutional Facilities is a compilation of water-saving tips, techniques, and fixture recommendations for commercial and institutional sectors, including hospitality, food service, healthcare, laboratory, office buildings, and educational facilities, which collectively use 17% of the water provided by the nation's public water supplies.
See action 1.3 for tracking and reporting energy use reduction in the B3 database. Poorer-performing buildings in B3 show 2½ or fewer stars in the Benchmark tab and the Actual/Benchmark Ratio is greater than 1.0
For actions and resources related to water and wastewater facilities, see GreenStep best practice #20 (Efficient Water and Wastewater Facilities)
Implement changes in one poorer-performing building and summarize the actions taken: switch to LED lights; updating temperature, ventilation and lighting schedules and setbacks; occupancy sensors on lights/automated light dimmers; installing building-wide computer and office equipment power management software; assigning responsibility for turning off manual lights and other shared equipment; assuring that routine HVAC maintenance schedules are thorough and implemented at appropriate intervals; revising janitorial schedules to day-time hours; adjusting janitorial responsibilities to include regular cleaning of sensors, lamps and HVAC vents; installing lower-flow faucet aerators, dish sprayers, and showerheads to reduce hot water use.
Complete 1 Star criterion for two buildings. Post the Print Screen of the Baseline tab for one of the buildings with the Energy gauge showing at least a 5% decrease in energy use compared to the baseline period [12 months immediately prior to implementing changes]. Continue fine-tuning operations and maintenance procedures and monitoring energy usage to identify opportunities for additional savings.
Complete 1 and 2 Star criteria for two buildings. Use B3 to report at least a 10% decrease in energy use compared to the baseline period.
Who's doing it
Austin - 3 star
Date action report first entered:
Date of last report update:
Year action initially completed:
Implementation details:
Since 2011, the City of Austin has received over $70,000 in rebates for installing energy efficient equipment resulting in 617,898 kWh and 30885 therms of gas (see City of Austin Rebates).
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
At least 4 of our buildings, as tracked in B3, have reduced energy by more than 10%. Several more have reduced by more than 5%. This qualifies us for 3 star rating.
The City of Belle Plaine signed an agreement with Energy Surety Partners to replace a majority of lighting in city buildings with LED lights. It is estimated that the city will save 160,895 KWh of energy per year at a savings of $8,738 to the city per year.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
The measurements for this project will be the reduction of electrical usage on city electric bills
In 2022, the Burnsville Ice Center replaced all 170 non-LED light bulbs with LED bulbs.
In, 2010, Dakota Electric audited the City of Burnsville's city-owned buildings. Based on the recommendations, Fire Station 1 made several low/no-cost O&M changes:
-Weather stripped garage doors and exterior doors
-Converted all fluorescent lamps to T8 25W
-Installed occupancy controls for lighting in 4 areas of the station
-Installed compact fluorescent lights in certain areas of the station
-All of the bay lighting fixtures were replaced with high bay fluorescent fixtures
These changes began in 2010, and were completed by 2011.
Burnsville Performing Art Center was constructed in 2009. Energy efficiency was considered in the building envelope, the HVAC System, the lighting, etc. Due to the highly efficient nature of the building, the Dakota Electric Audit in 2010 did not have numerous recommendations for the building. However, the audit did reveal that the HVAC System was not being utilized as efficiently as it could be. Therefore, the HVAC system was fine tuned in the middle of 2010, and energy savings resulted.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Ice Center LED replacement is expected to save 31% on lighting energy with an annual savings of $11,125. The project is expected to pay for itself in less than six years! Visitors will notice brighter light throughout the facility and specifically over the ice sheets.
Fire Station 1's energy consumption reduced 13.76% post low cost O&M changes. Please note, retro commissioning changes were made at Fire Station 1 during the same time period, that will be reported under Action 3. Due to this, it is difficult to know the percentage change of solely the low/no cost changes.
Burnsville Performing Arts Center's energy consumption reduced 15.4% post fine-tuning its HVAC system.
The City of Detroit Lakes routinely audits our existing buildings for energy efficiency improvements. The Detroit Lakes Community and Cultural Center recently completed a major $1.8M energy conservation project to improve retrofit lighting and insulation. This included the installation of all DLC listed LEDs, which qualified for energy rebates through the Public Utility. The Detroit Lakes City Hall, Sports Arena, Parks Department, Electric Department, and Fire Department have improved lighting and insulation in recent years. These buildings have all installed DLC listed LEDs, which qualified for LED retrofit rebates through the Public Utility. The Detroit Lakes School District has replaced all lighting in each school building with DLC listed LEDs. All of the school buildings will receive an energy efficiency rebate through the Public Utility.
Low cost changes to operating practices were made at city-owned buildings.
The City of Duluth joined the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR Low Carbon IT Campaign by enabling the power management, or sleep mode, on our computers and monitors. This simple step will help reduce the nation's growing demand for electricity, save organizations money and help fight climate change. Power management enables computers and monitors to go into a low-power sleep mode after a period of inactivity. Power management has the potential to save up to $ 50 per computer annually.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
combined energy savings are identified in Best Practice Action 3 attachment.
The City of Farmington has implemented energy efficiencies in city buildings to reduce energy costs in multiple city buildings. These efforts will continue in the future.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
• Replaced 400 watt metal halide light fixtures and bulbs with T-8 32 watt fluorescent light fixtures and bulbs in shop area of the Central Maintenance Facility reducing energy use by 50% (2.5 year payback)
• Installed occupancy sensors in all rooms at the Rambling River Center allowing the lights to turn off automatically if there are no occupants in the room
• Working with Great River Energy staff on programming the HVAC unit’s air handler to optimally power down when no occupants are in building and power back on at a more optimal time before the building is occupied
• Automatic setback thermostats in the Rambling River Center have been changed to allow for higher temperatures to occur in the building during non-use times (nights and weekends) in the cooling season and lower temperatures to occur in the building during non-use times (nights and weekends) in the heating season
• City Hall and the Rambling River Center have both been placed on the Xcel Energy System Saver program during the cooling season, allowing the buildings cooling system to be cycled on and off every 15 minutes during peak demand times
The following items have been completed related to reducing energy costs outdoors:
• Replaced metal halide light fixtures and bulbs with LED fixtures and bulbs at the RR Park tennis courts
• Replaced metal halide light fixtures and bulbs in PD parking lot with new LED fixtures and bulbs
The city hall installed a new controller at about $5,000 in the parking ramp that controls the lights with a timer tided to our Geographical Location instead of a sever day clock that need to be adjusted several times a year.The city hall also has its AC upgrade in 07 at $110,000 shows up on the electrical usage for the next several years.
Implemented City wide interior lighting improvements for both operational and maintenance savings by utilizing a performance contract.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
The lighting project has been saving more than $60,000 annually since 2011. The City has also continued the replacement of lighting that was not included in the lighting project due to the short term payback that is being observed.
2016 saw considerable capital investment in the City of Jordan, with changes at city hall, a renovated police building, and a new city council chambers and city history museum building.
In August 2016, an energy audit was performed by Noble Conservation Solutions to inform lighting improvements for city buildings. At Jordan’s City Hall, entry way lights were switched to LED’s providing more light for less money. Jordan also constructed a brand new City Council Chamber and City History Museum building in the downtown area outfitted with LED lights, energy star rated displays, and a public water bottle filling station. The renovated Police Station required a significant overhaul allowing motion-activated light sensors, LED lighting, increased natural lighting, Energy Star appliances, and a water bottle filling station to be incorporated into the building.
When the Jordan Public Middle School and Community Education and Recreation center was rebuilt in 2015, low-flow plumbing fixtures were used in the new construction. Larger amounts of natural light were allowed inside with more windows. This ended up reducing the amount of water and electricity used even with the addition of more uses. The recently updated Middle School/Community Education and Recreation building uses about the same amount of water as Jordan’s Elementary school.
In addition to new upgrades, continual HVAC and lighting maintenance is performed on city buildings on a monthly basis.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Continued attention will be paid to how the new technology works and how much the city spends on energy through establishing a new baseline on B3 benchmarking software.
#1 - The La Crescent Fire Station and Community Building went through a extensive renovation to install energy, safety, and accessibility upgrades. These upgrades were done from 2015 to completion in March 2016 and included conversion to all LED lighting, weather stripping, sealant, HVAC replacements, and integrated communications and controls for heating and cooling. As of Fall 2016, La Crescent was chosen to be a part of the Made In Minnesota program.
#2 - The community ice arena has converted all indoor and outdoor lighting to LED lighting as of 10.31.16.
The City completed updates to its building automation software in 2018 and centrally controls the HVAC temperature, setbacks, and mechanical settings in 12 buildings. Janitorial staff was changed to daytime hours in 2016. Filter changes on air handling units are performed four times per year by both City and contractor staff to improve performance. A high-efficiency condensing boiler was installed in 2017. LED lighting retrofits are completed annually within City facilities as fluorescent tubes and fixtures need replacement. Occupancy sensors for high bay fluorescent light were installed in the Central Maintenance Facility truck garage in 2005 with the construction of the building and are monitored and adjusted as needed to maintain efficiency.
The City of Maple Grove implemented a city-wide energy efficiency upgrade program that has seen great savings of energy. Simple items were new energy efficient lights, motion sensors, and light sensors. Other items were new HVAC units, new heaters in shop buildings, and variable frequency drives on our HVAC system at the Community Center. Of specific note are the variable frequency drives as they showed immediate and large savings.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
$530,600: Energy efficiency improvements
$45,000: 3rd party consultant
$132,644: Estimated savings
$71,482: Estimated rebates from utilities
4.33 years: Simple payback
1,687,450: Estimated kWh reduction
178.41: Estimated kW demand reduction (reduction in the peak demands)
2,787.20 Estimated dTh natural gas reduction
8726: Total lamps replaced
39: Photo sensors installed
37: Variable frequency drives installed
12: Radiant (infrared) heat tubes installed
4: High efficiency furnaces installed
8: High efficiency air conditioning units installed.
The city owns and operates an ice arena and a fitness facility. The Williston Center is a 77,000 square foot fitness facility the ice arena is approximately 63,000 square feet. Both of these facilities are predominately used by the general public. The public is unlikely to manually shut off lights, therefore, energy use reduction projects focused on minimizing the need for them to do so. The tennis courts make up roughly 40 percent of the Williston Center. Following an energy analysis of the facility, the city began a lighting upgrade project to replace the 63 fixtures with more energy efficient t8 light bulbs. The lighting upgrade also included a delamping project which physically removed one of the three light bulbs in 47 of the fixtures. This reduced the amount of energy used while still maintaining an appropriate amount of light for the facility users. The ice arena has two separate ice rinks (Ice Arena A and Ice Arena B). By scheduling events and ice users throughout the daytime hours to Ice Arena A, staff is generally able to shut down all but the safety lights in Ice Arena B in order to save energy. To further energy savings within the large bleacher area of Ice Arena A, staff shuts all but the safety lighting in some of the bleacher and hallway areas in the lesser used areas of the facilities. Occupancy sensors were installed in the bathroom and changing rooms after staff noticed the lights rarely being shut off by users.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
The lighting project within the tennis building cost $15,000 and had a payback of less than one year.
The city's Energy Improvement Project (#894) with McKinstry included no/low cost changes to operational practices, such as lighting auto shut-off controls, vending machine controls, and water conservation efforts.
In 2020, West Metro Rescue Fire Station #3 at 4251 Xylon Avenue North upgraded to LED interior lighting. A rebate of $7,534 was obtained through Xcel Energy and a $3,000 grant was awarded through the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce Business Efficiency Grant Program. The city contributed $7,830 and West Metro Fire Rescue contributed $7,831 to the project. Total cost of the project was $26,194 with an expected payback period as a result of the improvements of five years.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Performance savings realized for the first year was $96,381, $25,000 greater than what was guaranteed by McKinstry.
We have started implementing the instillation of LED lights in all city buildings. We are 3/4 of the way to completion and hope to be 100% completed by the end of 2020.
The City reduced the temperature of City Hall from 9pm - 5am when the building is generally not occupied, the phone system was set on a timer go on entry save mode outside of regular business hours.
the printers were also set to power save mode. Staff were asked to make behavioral changes such as turning off the lights when not occupying a space and asked not to use space heaters.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Lowering the building temperature at night made a substantial change in our Xcel gas bills.
Attached are bills from Xcel.
The February 2016 statement went down from 136.2 to 127.9 therms (-8.3 / -6%) from the previous year.
The December 2015 statement went down from 125.5 to 65 therms ( -60.5 / -48%) from the previous year.
The November 2015 statement went down from 62.2 to 53.2 therms (-9 / -15%)
Lighting assessments have been completed at nearly all city facilities and buildings. City park buildings, office buildings, treatment facilities, and streetlights have all undergone efficiency projects. Due to rebates and guaranteed savings funding options, most projects have resulted either no costs or short paybacks. Nearly 4.5 million kWh are being saved each year due to the most recent lighting improvement projects. Energy efficiency projects are being prioritized and considered throughout all city planning.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
The Nutrient, Energy, and Water (NEW) Recovery Facility saves 1.6 million kWh annually. This was achieved through improvements to the HVAC system, building envelope, lighting, and process upgrades.
Through the Street Light Improvement Project, the city saves 2.4 million kWh annually. Lighting improvements to city buildings and parks saves 0.4 million kWh each year.
• In 2009, the City of Saint Paul received a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The grant along with utility rebates have allowed the City to completed over 100 energy efficiency projects in 60 municipal facilities, reducing its energy use by 30 percent. Case studies were developed for city-owned buildings and parking ramps that underwent energy efficiency retrofits. The majority of the projects have a projected payback period of less than five years
While the City of Shakopee does not have an explicit policy requiring LED and low flow fixtures, it has been the City's operational practice to ensure that any current and future replacements of lights or fixtures have only LED fixtures and low flow faucets/fixtures.
The Community Center and Ice Arena have set schedules for the HVAC and staff turn off all the lights at night; the Library, Police Department, and City Hall have full software controlled automation and operating schedules have been set. Occupancy sensors/dimmers are used in a limited capacity at the aforementioned buildings as well as the two Fire Stations. Public Works building and Fire Stations have programmable thermostats with schedules in place.
In 2012, the Public Works building improved its lighting by converting from T12 to T8 lighting.
During the October 2016 remodel, the Community Center upgraded 50% of the interior lighting to LED and installed Variable-Frequency Drives.
In October 2016, the Ice Arena installed 90% interior LED lighting and updated the building exterior as well as the parking lot to LED lighting.
When City Hall was completed in August 2017, all of the indoor lighting installed was LED as well as powered over Ethernet - low voltage and installed a sensor to reduce boiler usage.
In 2018, the exterior lights on the Community Center were upgraded to LED lighting. In 2019, the upper parking lot lighting was upgraded to LED lighting.
Completed.
The city retrofitted all city hall and community center lighting to LED, added programmable thermostats and put motion detector lights in closets and bathrooms where lights do not need to remain on during the day.
Replace incandent lighting with LED light fixtures in old hospital building to make space usable for offices. Upgrade lighting in city library to 28 watt fixtures instead of 40 watt fixtures at time of replacement of failing fixtures.
Installed 75F building control technology in City Hall; this includes updating and customizing temperature, ventilation, and lighting schedules/setbacks. This supplements our building-wide computer and office equipment power management policies.
Marshall County replaced its boiler system with a set of high-efficiency boilers that has programmable settings and integration with the courthouse’s network system.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Replace old fixtures and improve operating costs of lighting systems in newly remodeled buildings in Warren.
City Hall can now be fine-tuned to determine the minimal cost of operating the building while keeping the comfort levels in mind; this building system also identifies service/maintenance issues and catalogs them after they’ve been addressed; this further gives us an opportunity to identify areas of additional savings.
Replace old system and improve operating costs of HVAC systems in the courthouse, introduce building controls to optimize settings.
Alliant Energy conducted energy audits at major city-owned facilities in 2012. The attached document outlines the changes that have been made at each facility.
All city-owned buildings have switched from standard fluorescent lights to a more efficient light with electronic ballasts. Some LED fixtures have been installed in city-owned buildings as well.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
We still have the old fluorescent fixtures at the City Library and Senior Building. The City has obtained a quote from TRC (The Retrofit Companies) to retrofit 42 lamps to 30 LED fixtures at the Library as part of the 2016 capital budget. The Arlington Lions and Arlington Parks Committee are budgeting and fundraising for a complete remodel of the Senior Building in 2016. The remodel project will include energy updates (HVAC, lighting, bathroom fixtures) as well as "pretty" updates (paint, flooring, ceiling tiles, doors/windows).
In February of 2014 the city of Bemidji began working on an a partnership with Honeywell. The Investment Grade Audit to the City of Bemidji report identifies the current condition and recommendations for the facilities and infrastructure identified in the GESP Work Order Contract. This includes proposed enhancements to the mechanical, electrical, structural and temperature control systems along with the respective costs and savings associated with each recommendation.
Indoor light upgrades from incandescent or halogen to LED have been done in the Civic Plaza Art gallery, theater and council chambers. Weather stripping and exterior expansion joints on City Buildings and Fire Stations are inspected annually and repaired as needed.
Reducing energy consumption via lighting and operations in City buildings is a priority in order to reduce costs and resource consumption. Light motion sensors were installed in Coon Rapids City Hall and Public Works buildings to reduce energy use in areas with little to no activity. This same type of sensor system was also integrated into the HVAC systems in both buildings so that heat or air conditioning is not utilized unless the area is occupied. The city is updating VAV boxes at both Cith Hall and our Public Works Building. Both facilities will be upgraded to all LED lighting in 2021.
Coon Rapids operates two water treatment plants and has worked to make innovative improvements to reduce water use and energy consumption. City staff has reduced both water and energy use by reducing the amount of water run through filtering system and running water into the sanitary sewer system for processing. This improvement has not changed the high quality of water for our residents, but is providing significant cost and water savings. Both water treatment plants have received HVAC upgrades in 2020 and 2021
Cottage Grove completed energy audits in 2009 through Xcel Energy. As a result, all lights in the Public Works building, City Hall and Fire Station 2 were retrofitted. The heating system at the Public Works building was updated with fewer and more efficient units, from 9 unit heaters to 5 low intensity infrared heaters.
The Crookston Fire Hall went through its building and filled and sealed all unnecessary holes leading to the outside of the building as well as increased the the insulation on the roof to increase the R value.
Crookston City Hall had a contractor come through the building and update the lighting to improve the energy efficiency.
After the audit of several buildings in 2009 there were several enhancements made to buildings to improve energy efficiency; mostly affecting lighting upgrades and water conservation.
In the Municipal Center other O&M changes included changing the set point of rooms when unoccupied; they were raised during the cooling season and lowered during the heating season. Light sensors were also added in areas that didn't have them and the sesors that existed were tested and reapaired/replaced for otimal efficiency. The building envelope of all affected buildings were checked; windows were sealed and weather stripping was replaced to minimize heat loss.
The Civic Arena had major retrofits with a new ground source heat pump system put into place. This building also had several O&M changes to reduce water consumption, seal the building envelope with weatherstripping or caulking, and change the setpoints during unoccupied times.
The B3 Building Editor has been updated to reflect changes and will continue to be monitored to improve energy savings.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
A year after the retrofits and O&M changes the Municipal Center and Civic Arena have seen significant cost and energy savings. The Civic Arena has saved approximately 1 million gallons of water/year with the installation of low flow fixtues. Both buildings have seen significant energy, cost and CO2 savings.
The success of the rectrofits to date will contine to be monitored through the B3 tracking and staff will continue to operate the buildings to maximize the retrofits,seek out new opportunities for energy enhancements and budget annually for improvements that will sustain the savings.
The City of Elk River has made many changes and upgrades to city-owned buildings over the last few years. At the city owned Northbound Liquor upgrades were made to change all metal halide lighting to induction lighting and all parking lot lighting and refrigerator lighting were changed to LED. The City applied for and received an $87,000 grant from the Federal Stimulus package (ARRA) to upgrade lighting and heating systems in the Elk River Ice Arena in 2010. In 2012, the Elk River City Hall was retro commissioned and staff are currently working on implementing recommended changes. Maintenance staff have also upgraded track and recessed lighting in conference rooms to LED, lighting systems in the garage from T-12 to T-8 and added motion sensors, and installed new door sweeps on all exterior doors to the building. Recently, maintenance staff have been installing automated paper towel and soap dispensers and switched to coreless toilet paper to reduce waste. Similar upgrades are also being done on the City’s Public Safety Building. The City replaced the City Council dais monitors last month which reduced power consumption from 3.2 amps per monitor to 0.5 amps per monitor
Within the past (three) years, the City of Elko New Market has improved all interior public building lighting by changing from florescent to CFL (this change over is built into the Public Works process). Public building temperatures are governed according to the use of interior lighting timers, locked thermostats (lights off in unused spaces, 70F in actively used spaces and 62F in spaces while not in use). Power management software is already in place by requiring the use of sleep and shut down timers on all office equipment in accordance with energy star rated products. The City is also an energy star purchase member and conducts a routine HVAC maintenance schedule. The city's existing janitorial contract does account for "regular cleaning of sensors, lamps and HVAC vents", which occurs at minimum, twice per year. Lastly, there are low-flow faucets (all) and showerheads(3 of 3) installed throughout public properties in the city.
The City of Fergus Falls has already implemented indoor lighting changes in the following city facilities: City Shop, Water Treatment Plant, Waste Water Treatment Plant, Police Station, Fire Hall, City Hall, both Municipal Liquor Stores and the Community Arena. These facilities have either changed their operations to include T-8 or LED lighting. In addition, motion sensors, auto dim and photo cells have been added to the Police Station and Waste Water Treatment Plant.
Better lighting has been integrated into multiple buildings along with high efficiency furnaces. Improved lighting has been added to the indoor hockey rink and added to the public works building. This lighting will reduce energy usage. Also increasing longevity of the lightbulbs there by hindering replacement and creating cost savings. A high efficiency furnace has replaced an old furnace in the recreation building also a high efficiency furnace has replaces an old furnace in the water plant. Finally improvements have been made to the city hall building, a new roof was added. All these improvements were financed through an energy bond received from the government three years ago.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
These improvements are small. However these improvements are significant. Gilbert has to use money wisely, small improvements are small steps in the direction of change. With stick finances Gilbert cannot implement big changes. These small changes hopefully show the community that the city council is looking out for the peoples best interest. They are trying to make Gilbert a safer and cheaper place to live.
The City is in the process of changing out T12 fluorescent light ballasts and bulbs for more efficient T8 ballasts and bulbs in all of its buildings. Motion activated lighting was added when the street level of City Hall was remodeled in the spring of 2016. Motion sensors have also been installed in approximately 10 locations for locker rooms and offices in City owned buildings.
The City used a 2010 grant from the Department of Commerce- Division of Energy Resources to update the city lighting in its primary buildings. The City replaced all of its internal overhead fluorescent fixtures with the most energy efficient fluorescent fixtures. Cook County similarly updated the lighting in its public building in Grand Marais.
The old community center was replaced with a new YMCA. The YMCA was co-located with the public school, and renovated portions of the school including the gym, for the new facility. The project replaced the old community center pool much more energy efficient pool. Got a rebate from the GMPUC for energy efficient lighting, occupancy sensors, photocells, pool pumps, HVAC equipment, variable speed drives.
In 2012, the City of Inver Grove Heights remodeled the City Hall. During this renovation, a white thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) roof designed to reduce cooling and heating costs was added to the building. Additionally, approximately 130 motion censored lights were installed in City Hall during the renovation. In 2017, Inver Grove Heights replaced approximately 12 lighting fixtures with LED bulbs and fixtures at the Veterans Memorial Community Center.
The City has implemented energy saving changes to the Community Center and in the Isanti Indoor Arena. Other facilities, including the liquor store and Public Works facility, are currently under review for modifications to reduce energy costs. Community Center: All 36 fluorescent lighting fixtures were retro-fitted to LED. All HVAC components were inspected and one not working properly was decommissioned and others were repaired. Isanti Indoor Arena: All restrooms were equipped with automatic sensor faucets and automatic air hand dryers.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Reduced costs of electricity and water consumption.
Partners: Connexus Energy assisted with determining correct lighting upgrades at the Community Center to determine necessary footcandles for the public space.
RETAP has conducted energy audits for our City Hall, Library, Liquor Store, Public Utilities Building, and Fire Hall. In 2012, we had an energy audit on our Ice Arena and in 2013 we had an energy audit of our biggest electric use, our Wastewater Treatment Plant. Energy efficient lighting, originally a change from T-12's to T-8's. Retrofit lighting at Public Works(2015), City Hall (2020/21), Liquor Store (2020). All lighting has since had LED bulb upgrades. The Arena also had energy upgrades and lighting upgrades. With the construction of our new our new Library 2016 energy efficient lighting was a priority.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
We have completed our delamping at City Hall and installed sensor lighting in the hallways, breakroom, etc, and installed a programmable thermostat. We had changed out exterior lighting (approx annual savings of $1,234). All T-12 ceiling lights at the Liquor Store were changed to T-8'2. After the approx $225 annual energy savings, the added benefit was a much brighter retail space! The Liquor replaced the 30 year old cooler doors/lighting with LED lighting. Not only are they more energy efficient, but they cast a much better light!
The City completed a lighting upgrade in the City Shop. Existing 400 watt Metal Halide fixtures were replaced with 32 watt T8 High Bay Florescent fixtures.
On 12-18-13, six VendingMisers were installed around town. One in the city's Rec Center, one in the elementary school, and 4 in the secondary school. These will cycle the machines off after a period of inactivity, and are able to save about 50% of energy used by the vending machines.
We installed LED lights in all 4 of city buildings. City hall has programmable thermostats. All indoor lights in our buildings are turned off at the end of day or when the buildings are not occupied. City staff is scheduled on a regular basis to change out all furnace filters . As we upgrade computers we purchase energy star compliant that automatically go into sleep mode when not in use.
Per recommendation of the RETAP assessment of the Marine Village Hall (8/13/15), 19 CFL lightbulbs were replaced with LEDs on the main floor of the building and 28 Incandescent bulbs were replaced with LEDs in the upstairs auditorium (1/15).
New American Standard natural gas furnaces were installed (4/8/15) in the Marine Village Hall, one to service the main floor and one for the upstairs auditorium. New furnaces are 97% efficient, as compared with the old 90% efficient.
A new American Standard Gold air conditioner was installed (4/8/15) to service the main floor of the Marine Village Hall. It is a more efficient 15 SEER unit, replacing the old 10 SEER unit.
Programmable thermostats were installed on the two new furnaces.
Janitorial services are done during business hours.
Mendota Heights is replacing outdated fluorescent lighting with LEDs alongside other building upgrade projects. A full switch to LEDs accompanied the fire station remodel and expansion in 2019. Lighting inside city hall and the police station are approximately 85% converted.
Mountain Iron has taken the stance that anytime there is a lighting fixture that needs to be replaced, that only energy efficient LED fixtures will be used. Overtime all fixtures will be replaced.
Since 2018, City and Public Utility buildings have regularly upgraded lighting. Over twenty separate lighting upgrades have occurred within multiple locations. Each year department supervisors’ budget to finish sections of buildings yet completed. Public utility buildings have received some rebates from their wholesale power supplier to off-set the cost and payback.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
First year savings from these upgrades resulted in 49.1 kW, 152,819 kWh, and $18,211. City owned (non-utility) buildings also received rebates totaling $13,054 allowing the average payback to be 3.4 years.
The City of Newport worked with RETAP in early 2013 to conduct an energy audit on the two fire stations and City Hall. These three buildings were chosen because they have the highest ratio of actual measured consumption against the predicted benchmark according to the Minnesota B3 Benchmarking Program. Attached are the reports from RETAP, which include the recommended actions. The City replaced the furnaces for all three buildings and the A/C unit in the Police Department at City Hall. The City shuts off computers in City Hall at the end of the day.
Currently 20% of all streelights are LED. Only one of the building uses 100% of LED. As City improves its practices it will continue to enforce LED throughout the City owned buildings.
Building-wide computer and office equipment power management software to go in sleep mode and also staff training to turn off all computer related equipment to be shut down and powered off when not being used.
City is committed to working towards conservation of energy throughout its building.
The City replaced all existing windows in City Hall with higher efficiency replacements.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Noticeable decrease in temperature fluctuation with the seasons. Decreased energy consumption. Removed annual winter frost layers from interior of window sill.
A variety of no/low cost measures have been implemented at city facilities, specifically City Hall, since the summer of 2010. Reminders were posted to shut lighting off in non-essential areas when not in use. Lighting was updated from T12 to T8 throughout the building. Computers across the city were set to auto-sleep mode to save energy when not in use. HVAC controls were adjusted to keep the building at a more even temperature, reducing the use of personal heaters/fans in offices. Timers were placed on coffee pots and other appliances to limit the hours of actual use.
From 1987 to about 2010, the City of Red Wing has been involved in over 110 energy saving projects with Xcel Energy and has received $98,404.53 in rebates. In addition, these program services have resulted in saving 1,390,351 kWh of electricity and 165,554 therms of natural gas over this same period. When this number is combined with the savings in electricity ($125,185.59) and natural gas ($140,185.59), in today’s dollars, the total benefit to the City of Red Wing would be nearly $365,000.
Numerous energy efficient items have been installed as part of the construction of the new Public Works Maintenance Facility:
• Motion sensors on all lighting
• Automatic water shut of on all bathroom sinks
• Automatic flushing, low flow toilets in bathrooms
LED lights were installed on the outside of the Wood Lake Nature Center.
The City of Richfield participates in the Xcel Electric Rate Savings Peak-Controlled Rate Program for commercial and industrial customers. During periods of peak demand, such as hot summer days, the Xcel power grid may require more power than is normally available. By participating in Electric Rate Savings, we help reduce the amount of electricity demand, which helps Xcel meet system-wide requirements at critical times.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Due to our ability to significantly reduce power demand when needed, Richfield has moved from the “Level B” to “Level C” discount tier which is the highest discount level available in Xcel's program. Richfield’s annual electric savings will increase by nearly $500 to an estimated $3,900.
From 2005-2009 Rochester worked with Johnson Controls, they went through and evaluated the efficiency of each government building in Rochester. This project had begun before the B3 Energy performance ranking, but Rochester updated and made the recreation center and the Civic Center more efficient with big remodels done to each building. These buildings were on the very bottom of efficient government buildings.
Over the past years, Roseville has been updating City Hall Campus Buildings with newer technology to improve energy efficiency. Office spaces, conference rooms, and staff common areas within City Hall had motion detectors installed in 2012 to save energy if the rooms are not in use for 15 minutes. In 2015, the City finished changing all building lights to LED, and updated an aged Boiler with a high efficiency model that requires less energy to operate. The City is now starting to analyze the B3 data to see if there were any savings from the lighting retrofit.
The City of Sherburn installed motion sensor lights for the bathroom in the community hall and installed programmable thermostat for our community hall.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
The bathroom lights are not on unless someone comes into the room which saves energy. The programmable thermostat keeps the temperature in the community hall at 60 degrees when it is not occupied.
The Doug Woog Arena, which is owned by the City of St. Paul, was converted the lighting for the entire building to LED lighting.
At their meeting on Jan. 28, the South St. Paul School Board approved entering into an agreement to install solar panels at Kaposia Elementary. The action is the culmination of nearly a year of research and negotiation to assess the viability and sustainability of such a project.
In April 2018, the South St. Paul School Board approved a non-binding letter of intent to work with the State of Minnesota, Department of Administration – Office of Enterprise Sustainability (OES) to share information, evaluate potential options, and perform site visits on the subject of installing solar panels in the district. Through this process, the district identified Kaposia Education Center as a potential site of solar panels, given the age and structure of the building.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
By converting over, it Is estimated that the annual cost saving will be over 36,000 yearly.
All city-owned buildings have switched from standard fluorescent lights to a more efficient light with electronic ballasts. Some LED fixtures have been installed in city-owned buildings as well.
In spring 2014 The City started a Save Energy Campaign with staff and users of City Hall. We've placed turn off the lights signs in the City Offices and Council Chambers. Bathrooms in City Hall building have an automatic sensor and turn off when not being used. We hope to expand this campaign to other existing City Buildings and the new City Hall/Library and new Public Works Building the City is constructing. We've placed turn off your computer at the end of the day signs in office areas in City Hall. The city offers an appliance rebate program to citizens to submit your rebate if you purchased an Energy Star water-efficient appliance.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Less energy used in the New City Hall building with Energy Star appliances and Save Energy Campaign
City Hall was re-lamped in 2010. Switched from 58w T8 lighting to 43w T8 lighting. Installed motion sensors in restrooms, breakroom. Replaced exit signs with LED 4w signs.
Estimated savings were 13,831kWh, 25,513 CO2 (lbs), and $1,122.66 annually.
Re-lamped Public Safety building in 2010.
Re-lamped the Police Dispatch area with lower wattage T8s and some CFL dimmable lights. Replaced remaining T12s lights with T8s.
Estimated savings were 27,672 kWh, 64,042 CO2(lbs) and $2,679.87 annually.
Lights at the City's Central Garage and City Hall are being retrofitted with LED tubes in place of T8 fluorescent tubes. Staff is working on determining feasibility of LEEP and GESP which would address lighting in other facilities.
Lights were converted from T-12 to T-8 in 2011 as part of a performance contracting project in all major city buildings.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Conversion of at least 15 light fixtures to LED tubes.
In 2016, MMPA completed Hometown Solar installations in it's member communities. Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop (GFW) High School are the first to receive installations under the agency's program. The City of Winthrop also supported GFW lighting project and was able to provide a substantial lighting rebate.
Some of the low and no cost changes include the installation of vending misers at City Hall, Central Park, and the Public Works building; adjusting parking lot lighting at city facilities to turn off between 11:00pm and 5:00am; installation of occupancy sensors at City Hall, Public Safety, the Public Works building, and the fire stations; installation of low-flow water fixtures for all city remodeling or construction projects; and lighting retrofits for all city buildings. At Central Park, the winter temperature for the facility was reduced to 69 degrees from 71 degrees. Summer temperatures were also increased to save energy. Thirty-two watt lamps were replaced with 25-watt lamps at Central Park. In the fire stations, night lighting in the parking bays were reduced to save energy.
A lighting audit was performed by Xcel energy and CCE on all city facilities. Once the audit was completed the city council authorized LED lighting in all city facilities including, the Wyoming library, Wyoming city hall, Wyoming fire department, Wyoming public works and Wyoming police department. All internal and outdoor lighting was replaced at all facilities.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Total installed costs of all lighting were $ 28,570.12. The city received a $6, 755.00 utility rebate from Xcel energy resulting in a final cost of $21,815.12. With the LED light conversion the city will save an annually amount of $4,982.03.
Numerous city buildings, selected based on size, have received energy audits and energy efficiency improvements. Going forward, the city may prioritize audits for the least efficient city buildings as determined by B3 energy performance ranking and consider energy efficiency improvements with paybacks of under 5 years.
The City has replaced lights within City Hall with LED lights. The City has also installed motion sensor lighting in certain public areas of City Hall to reduce energy use.
The utility service center features occupancy sensors in break rooms/ storage rooms/ restrooms for both lights and exhaust fans. BPU also installed new high efficiency lighting for the arena and in the shop.
Switched parking lot lights at City Hall and East Fire Station to LEDs
Currently remodeling City Hall and are switching office and dormer lights to LEDs
In February 2020 we replaced 64 fixtures at Operations & Maintenance Facility with LEDs
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Saving at Operations & Maintenance estimated to be $253.84 per year
We have changed all outdoor lights at city hall, public works, police station and street lights to LED's over the last 5 years.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
LED retrofits on our public facilities along with decreased energy bills related to our street light over the last few years. It has taken us a few years to get all of the street lights replaced and then we focused on our public buildings. For example we just replaced the external lights on the police station last year. We were able to get rebates from Connexus for this work and worked with Anoka County on the parking lot lights at City Hall as the library is on the same campus.
Starting in 2010 with the MSC (Municipal Service Center), Columbia Heights has been evaluating the older buildings for lighting improvements and efficiency. See attached for the project completed in 2010.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
The City has noticed using the B3 tracking program that electrical usage is down since the upgrade for the MSC.
Our two park shelters were listed under the B3 program as using significantly more energy that their counterparts across the state. An Xcel Energy representative conducted an audit of the buildings and determined that simply putting motion detectors on the interior lights would be the most cost effective conservation measure.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
The city installed motion detectors on interior lights and will me monitoring the results over the next several months by continuing to enter the data into the B3 database.
The City of Fridley installed motion activated lighting at its Civic Campus, Public Works building. The City also installed Vending Misers on its Vending Machines which lowers the energy consumption of the vending machine when not in use.
Yearly boiler inspection is Performed by Gartner Refridgeration and Temperature controls to insure that all city boilers are running at their maximum efficency. B3 is used in all major city building to monitor energy use and is update monthly.
RETAP conducted an energy audit of city buildings in October 2009. For information on energy efficiency improvements implemented, see details in action 3. New air conditioning and heating unit in the community center with an automatic thermostat. Weather stripping has been done and checked annually.
The City of Lake Elmo recently renovated and expanded our old City Hall into our new City Center building. This facility was designed to maximize natural light, indoor lighting is set on an automatic dimmer to account for natural lighting.
All of the indoor lighting is also on motion sensors where they automatically turn off once no movement or occupancy is detected.
Worked with Ottertail power company for new lighting in facility center with rebates: LED lighting in new buildings, in Division of Resource Management and Headquarters. Created an outreach campaign involving reminders to staff about their energy usage. For example, using "turn it off" light switch stickers and verbal reminders about unnecessary energy usage.
The City of Mahtomedi recently installed programmable thermostats in City Hall which automatically decreases the amount of heating or cooling to the building during off-peak hours, reducing energy consumption when the building is not in use. The City is also in the process of installing a new high efficiency HVAC system in the Fire Department building. The new system is estimated to reduce energy consumption by 10-25% over the current system.
The City's new City Council chambers were designed as "flex space" to accomodate multiple uses, and integrate light sensors to provide lighting only when the room is being utilized. Lighting is provided via high-efficiency LED fixtures.
The City of Mankato also participates in the MN Energy Challenge, through the MN Center for Energy & Environment. 110 staff members from the organization participate.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
603,760 lbs CO2 saved through MN Energy Challenge, saving approximately $42,000/annually.
In 2010/2011, an energy audit was completed and savings opportunities identified. Areas with the most potential for energy savings at the lowest cost were targeted for efficiency improvements. This meant a lighting retrofit for the following buildings: City Hall, North Ambulance, the Parks Maintenance Shed, Airport Shop, MERIT Center, Wastewater treatment facility, and the Street Department.
Due in part to the success of the first retrofits, additional retrofits were begun in 2014 to the Legion Field Swimming pool.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
The Street Dept replaced 500 watt incandescent lighting in its storage building with T-8 Highbay fluorescent fixtures resulting in improved lighting and a 75% reduction in energy usage. Overall the 2011 lighting retrofit resulted in an overall electric savings of 20%.
An order has been put in for LED lighting for the Legion Field swimming pool, switching from the original incandescent lighting. Overall the project is expected to reduce the swimming pool's electric demand by 16,205 W, saving 28,453 kWh each summer.
The Hjemkomst Center in Moorhead is home to the Hjemkomst Viking Ship, which is housed by a tent. The building itself is of interesting circumstance; since it houses many artifacts, it is crucial that the temperature and humidity in the building remain constant, ruling out the possibility of a nightly setback. This, in combination with the tent that houses the ship, makes this a relatviely poor-performing building in terms of energy efficiency. A number of upgrades have taken place to reduce energy consumption including more efficient humidifiers and updating the HVAC system from pneumatic controls to digital controls in 2012. Digital controls were installed by TRAIN, with whom the museum has a full-service contract to take care of routine maintenance on the HVAC system. The installation of digital controls allows for better diagnostic tools, and ensures that any problems are caught early. The track lighting for exhibits were transitioned form 90-watt bulbs to CFL lighting, and is now slowly transitioning to LED lighting. The lighting in the museum lobby has been completely replaced with CFL and LED lighting. In June of 2018, variable frequency drives were installed on air handlers that control the air inside of the ship, reducing run-time by approximately 66%.
The City of Mora has made several upgrades to city-owned buildings. The lighting systems have been upgraded from standard fluorescent lights to energy-efficient LED bulbs/fixtures. Automatic sensors have been installed to reduce power consumption. HVAC Thermostats are set based on whether a space is occupied at City Hall and other buildings. The Mora Aquatic Center has water saver faucets and a set timer to reduce water use and prevent water waste.
Restroom facilities at City Hall have been equipped with sensors to turn on when occupied. City Hall HVAC automation has unoccupied set points to throttle heat/cooling back.
The City has installed new, energy efficient lighting throughout the wastewater treatment plant, transitioning over a five year period. City Hall and other buildings have been partially completed, with the ballasts being replaced as they go bad. As of 8/29/22, about half of all ballasts across the City have been replaced.
RETAP Assessment in January 2011, Recommendations presented to City Council.
City installed Vending Misers, Programmable Thermostats as recommended by RETAP
Since 2020 the city facility division has been implementing an LED light retrofit program which has replaced existing interior halogen lights in all city facilities including: City Hall/Public Safety, Maintenance Facility, Ice Center, 2 transit
stations, 2 water treatment plants, and 3 fire stations. This work was completed in 2021.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
outcomes are measured in money and energy saved per building.
The City has implemented low-cost changes in the Public Works Facility and Activity Center, and will soon be reviewing operations practices in the Fire Station.
Public Works: 4 occupancy sensors have been installed in maintenance rooms. A timer has been put on the snack vending machine to reduce its energy usage by over 50%.
Activity Center: A complete operations and maintenance analysis was completed as part of a recommissioning and controls installation project. Several HVAC components have been identified that were not working properly and fixed or replaced. Operations have been matched to building occupancy schedules. Vending misers have been installed on all 3 soda vending machines. Timers have been installed on all arcade games.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
We will upload the results from B3 when they become available in the next billing period.
The City of Royalton installed motion sensor lights for the breakroom and bathrooms in city hall and installed programmable thermostat for our city hall.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
The bathroom and breakroom lights are not on unless someone comes into the room which saves energy. The programmable thermostat keeps the temperature in the council chamber at 63 degrees when we are not using the room.
In 2008, the City undertook an facility assessment report for all public buildings completed by Sebesta Blomberg.
The City has implemented a lighting replacement program which has reduced the energy consumption in the Water Treatment Plant (as seen in the attached screen shot from the B3 website).
The City implemented a lights-off policy in the Public Works Facility Building which has resulted in an electrical usage of 16%. This was also the result of a more aggressive maintenance schedule of the HVAC system on a yearly basis.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
The City is currently implementing the recommendations made in the report by Sebesta Blomberg. The entire report and improvements to date can be viewed at City Hall.
The energy use was reduced in the Public Works Facilty by 16.42%. The energy use in the Water Treatment Plant was reduced by 24.72%.
The City of St. James upgraded the lighting system to LED lights in the new City Hall building in January 2023 before moving operations into the building in February 2023. Out of the 13 city-owned buildings, the City has upgraded 11 of the buildings to LED lights.
The city recently revisited a proposal from 2009 which outlined potential savings opportunities within the City's various departments (energy efficiency, lightning upgrades, HVAC improvements, etc.) The preliminary findings were accepted by the City Council. This allows the city to continue working with Johnson Controls to conduct a more complete review of City Facilities which will subsequently be presented to the Council. The full review will offer the city the chance to compare what specific improvements for energy and operational savings are recommended by Johnson Controls. It's estimated that Sartell could save an estimated $122,000 annually in energy and energy equipment-operating costs. This would mean about $1.2 million could be saved over 10 years. An example of one of the potential improvements is replacing the street lights with high-efficiency LED bulbs.
The City continues to switch from standard fluorescent lights to more efficient LED. Examples of low cost projects include the Fire Department replaced apparatus bay and exterior lights with LED that reduced use at Station 1 in 2019, and Building Services replaced Savage Sports Dome lights with LED lights in 2020, City Hall interior LED lights, Marketplace liquor beer cooler LED lights, Library LED lights, Police Garage LED lights, Post Office LED lights, and the entire public works building and garage LED lights.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Investing in energy efficient projects accumulates annual savings on energy for the City. LED lights are more efficient and LED investment has rebate options. For example, in the Sports Dome LED project, the total project cost was $143,594.74. The City qualified for a Center for Energy and Environment (CEE) rebate of $84,694.16. This brought the project cost down to $58,900.57. Switching to LED lights is projected to save the City $29,651.76 per year. This means the total project cost of $58,900.57 is only a 2 year payback.
Yes, conducted an inventory of Shoreview City Complex energy use data from B3 data and graphically analyzed it to demonstrate consumption trends, costs, and carbon output estimates, as well as where improvement options exist. Remodeled Maintenance Center in 2010 (LEED Gold certification)
The Silver Bay arena lighting was converted to LED bulbs a few years ago. This switch will not only save the city money, but also be much more energy efficient.
1. The lights in the parking ramp have been replaced with low cost lighting
2. Every time a light burns out at City Hall and Public Works, Facilities Manager replaces it with a low-cost light
The City has been incrementally converting all city facility lighting to LED as funds are available since 2018. Recently, city leadership has allocated $50,000 in its budget every year from 2024 – 2028 for LED light replacement to complete the process.
Occupancy sensors have been installed throughout the North Service Center building. City staff and Voss Energy have collaborated with Xcel Energy and Connexus to secure energy rebates for multiple efficiency projects.
All large City buildings operate on heating schedules. Boilers and HVAC systems within City Hall and North Service Center are checked on a weekly basis and maintained regularly.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
The City has received $7379.51 in energy rebates through this effort.
The City had all fluorescent light fixtures at the following 3 facilities, also taking advantage of the Xcel Energy rebate program.
* Inside the West St Paul Ice Arena converted to LED
* Inside and outdoor lighting at West St Paul Pool converted to LED
* Indoor Dome lighted converted to LED
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Install was completed at the end of 2020, not enough energy usage data to measure cost savings yet.
City Hall currently has all LED and Motion Sensor Lighting.
The Library has all LED and Motion Sensor Lighting
Ely Rec Center has all LED Lighting
Veterans Clinic (Building owned by the City) Currently has LED Lighting
MN Department of Revenue building (Owned by the City) has LED Light bulbs
Ely Wastewater treatment plant has LED in the offices and lab, but not throughout the entire plant.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Unknown at this time.
Descriptive File:
Descriptive links:
For more information contact:
Scott Kochendorfer (City Staff) | pzadmin@ely.mn.us | 218-226-3224 Ext 3