| Local Policy Description: | Lifecycle purchasing
Each year a city or county may buy millions of dollars worth of energy using equipment, including items such as motors, pumps, lighting devices, air conditioners, office machines and so forth. Energy efficient equipment is usually more expensive than less efficient equipment, and thus the biggest obstacle to purchasing it is often by price. Since local governments are frequently bound by law to take the lowest bid, they often do not end up buying the more efficient products. To overcome this hurdle, some communities have introduced the concept of lifecycle costing. Under this principle, a local government, such as the City of Charleston, bases its buying decisions not only on an item’s purchase price, but also the cost of operating the item during its expected lifetime. It takes into account the purchase price, number of years of expected use, the cost of electricity needed to operate it during those years, and any other quantifiable maintenance costs. In this way, energy efficient equipment, which may be a
wiser long-term 24 investment, is more competitive during the bidding process when compared to equipment that is less expensive but also less efficient.
Low Income Energy Efficiency Subsidies (Light Bulb Exchange Program)
Implementing a program to benefit underprivileged families in Charleston who cannot afford to invest in energy efficiency measures would not only improve the quality of life and save those families money, it would decrease greenhouse gas emissions stemming from electricity generation. If the city were to distribute 10,000 23-watt compact florescent light bulbs (CFL), which are the equivalent of 100-watt light bulbs to 2,000 low-income households, those households would save a total of $134,904 per year (an average of $67.45/household, at $0.08/ kWhr). 1,686 tons of CO2 would also be prevented from entering the atmosphere. This program would cost between $50,000 - $150,000, though community savings would be realized year after year. This cost is a mere 1.5%-4.8% of what the City of Charleston pays to supply electricity and gas to their buildings.
Switch to Energy Efficient LED Traffic Signals and Exit Signs
Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology for traffic signals and exit signs offers big energy savings over traditional incandescent lamps. LED signals use less electricity to produce the same amount of light output as traditional traffic signals. Furthermore, the lifetime of an LED signal is more than ten times that of an incandescent bulb signal, reducing maintenance and replacement costs drastically. A third advantage is that LED signals are made up of hundreds of small diodes rather than a single light source, so the signal is less likely to burn out and cause traffic delays or accidents. These factors, combined with technological advances that have driven the cost of LED signals down by 50% in the last few years, make LEDs a logical and cost effective choice. Local governments using this technology are showing short payback periods.
Improve Streetlight Efficiency
The City of Charleston is responsible for 8,935 streetlights. Of these, only 1201 are high efficiency high-pressure sodium lights. The remaining 7734 are less efficient mercury vapor lights. High-pressure sodium streetlights use on average 54.91% less electricity than do mercury vapor lights. Implementation of this measure could result in annual savings of $15,673 and in the elimination of 97 tons of CO2.
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