County’s efforts at energy efficiency save taxpayers over $1 million

Since 1999 Pinal County Facilities Management has been on a mission: to find and eliminate energy wasting devices and replace them with more efficient appliances.

After seven years their mission has been an unparalleled success, but that doesn’t mean Facilities Management will stop and rest on their laurels.

“The true winners are the taxpayers,” said Supervisor David Snider. “I have seen the figure on how much money has been saved by the equipment upgrades, and it has been substantial.”

In a recent study of energy outlay costs, Pinal County has saved over $1.3 million, or an average of $29,762 a month.

The goal of saving money on energy costs began in 1999 when Facilities Management replaced 27 older air conditioning units with higher SEER units. The immediate result was a 40 percent increase in efficiency. Yearly, Pinal County saves $60,000 on A/C energy costs alone due to that upgrade.

Throughout the years, Facilities Management Director Mark Tucker has worked with Arizona Public Service in a performance contract to retrofit lighting devices in every County building. While the County gets the equipment up front for free, APS is paid back with the money saved from the devices — money that would have been used in electrical costs.

“I’m glad the Supervisors have really been supportive of this partnership,” Tucker said. “We get the equipment without the capitol outlay, and that means other departments are able to do more because we are not spending the money for these devices.”

Tucker said that looking at the overall picture, the county has 70 percent more office space than it did in 1997 and yet, with the energy savings from the upgrades and retrofitting, the energy bill is almost the same.

Most of the savings comes from improvements to the lighting fixtures. Using lower wattage bulbs, which use much less electricity, saves just over $122,000 a year. Tucker said that the lighting fixtures are relatively inexpensive to purchase, but the savings in kilowatts are greatest overall.

The use of lower wattage light bulbs saves county taxpayers over $122,000 annually.

“We are always looking at new and innovative ways to save money on our energy costs,” Tucker said. “We may be adding another component with APS to add even more savings to our energy budget.”

Since 2002 Pinal County has twice been the recipient of the Governor’s Award for energy efficiency, beating out both Maricopa and Pima Counties.