Mauldin Targets Energy Savings

Mauldin city officials are moving forward with a plan to equip several public buildings with energy-efficiency upgrades that should save the city's taxpayers thousands of dollars annually.

The plan would upgrade eight city buildings with new lighting, windows, and spray-foam insulation that officials estimate will save the city more than $54,000 annually.

City Council recently approved taking out a $316,365 loan with a two percent interest rate to fund the upgrades. In return, the city expects to save $54,022 a year and pay back the loan in less than six years, The Greenville News reported.

“The interest is, of course, the benefit to the environment — but also the cost-savings to the taxpayers,” City Administrator Trey Eubanks told the paper.

The bulk of the savings will eventually come from new T5 fluorescent lighting fixtures and the replacement of traditional light switches with occupancy sensors. According to the city's loan application to the state Energy Office's ConserFund, the lighting upgrades should cost $56,386 and save $51,435 annually, the paper reported.

The rest of the savings would come from such things as installing spray-foam insulation at the Cultural Center and Miller Road fire station, as well as installing energy-efficient windows at the fire station.

The report noted that the city's newest fire station on Bethel Road already has the latest in energy-saving items, including solar panels to power the water heater and sensors that turn off lights 30 seconds after a room empties. 

"It may be nickels and dimes, but over the years it's cost-efficient," Fire Chief Russell Sapp told the paper.