Lexington, KY - In the money-tight economy of 2009, Scott County officials turned to their historic and stately 160-year-old courthouse in downtown Georgetown and wondered how much money they were losing through inefficient energy consumption.
George Lusby, Scott County judge executive, and Mike Wright, deputy judge executive, called on Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Georgetown to see if they had any advice. Lusby and Wright met with David Absher, Toyota's manager of environmental engineering, and the results of the project have astounded Lusby.
By following the recommendations made by Toyota, Lusby said Scott County spent about $25,000, and in the first nine months after implementation of the energy-conserving measures, the county saved the entire investment in reduced energy consumption and costs. Those savings are now gravy year after year.
"Toyota donated that service," said Lusby. "Credit goes to them." After a pause, he added, "It makes you think we ought to do this in our homes."
What Toyota did was to send Lannie Sproul, a specialist in systems engineering, to study the courthouse.
"(A technician and I) did a retro-commission on the courthouse," said Sproul. "We saw how it should run, as compared to how it was actually running, and then we made recommendations and followed through with supervising."
In addition to his work with Toyota, Sproul has started his own business, Bright Homes Consulting, offering his services to businesses and home owners in the Bluegrass. Sproul has certifications in energy management, energy auditing, sustainable development and radiation safety (radon testing and mitigation).
Changes to lighting made significant energy savings at the Scott County Courthouse, Sproul said. Florescent light fixture ballasts were switched out for newer, more efficient ones. Florescent tubes were replaced with more efficient ones, requiring only two tubes where there had been four. Energy consumption of the lighting was significantly cut without reducing the amount of light.
Also, the building systems were running constantly, including on nights and weekends, even though it basically operated as a nine-to-five, five-days-a-week facility. Sproul recommended that the building be put to sleep over the weekend and into a "light doze" each weeknight. Insulation was applied in neglected spaces and improved where necessary. Ventilation was tied to CO2 monitoring, so that unneeded fresh air was not being continually pumped into the building, requiring more energy for the conditioning of that air. An airlock was created in the entranceway, preventing massive exchanges of air whenever the doors opened.
They pulled out a 20-year-old cast iron boiler from the basement and replaced it with a condensing boiler. Still to come, a digital thermostat system will replace an old pneumatic one, cutting energy consumption by an additional estimated 10 percent.
Sproul's home in the Lansdowne-Merrick neighborhood shows the kind of work he recommends for clients.
"From 2003 to 2009, I've reduced my energy footprint greater than 50 percent per square foot without impacting comfort," he said. He explained that when he started his measurements in 2003, his home was consuming roughly 8.1 million BTUs per square foot in gas and electric over a year. In 2009, he had reduced that to 3.6 million BTUs per square foot.
"It's all very doable," he said. "There's nothing unusual about this house. It's all off the shelves, out-of-the-store stuff. We also turn off the lights when we're done in a room and use ceiling fans when it's appropriate. We walk the talk."
He has mounted solar thermal panels on his roof to heat water in a 150-gallon tank in the garage. During the winter, he supplements the solar hot water system with a tankless water heater on the wall in his laundry room. Outdoor lights in the front and rear of the house run off batteries connected to small solar photo voltaic panels. He installed a Solatube to light up his laundry room, and he said, on a full moon night, it provides enough illumination to make the laundry room navigable. Solar fans mounted on the roof pull hot air out of the attic, reducing the attic temperature by 10 degrees. He super-insulated his west facing wall. A super-insulated wall has an R-value of 25, and super-insulated roofs have R-60.
He continues work to increase energy efficiency. Because bricks absorb much heat, he's planning a green-wall along the exterior brick wall facing south. He will build a trellis along that wall to support a cover of clematis that will cool that side of the house during the summer. He plans to make his roof a "cool roof" with the application of a special coating that will whiten the black shingles. Cool roofs reflect light and heat, making for a more durable roof while reducing cooling loads and the urban heat island effect. U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu has called on Americans to make their roofs white to reduce energy consumption as well as lessen heat absorption that is trapped by greenhouse gases.
Sproul builds his building assessments and recommendations based on his own knowledge and his use of software-driven statistical tools. He has developed relationships with plumbers, electricians, roofers and other professionals in the building trade, so he can oversee work done by people who understand his vision. After making his recommendations, Sproul leaves the rest up to the client, in terms of what kind of investment in energy efficiency they decide to make. Lannie Sproul can be reached by e-mail at BHCsolar@hotmail.com or by phone at (859)269-1797.