Woodbridge Town Hall, Beecher Road School and Amity Regional High School all received an Energy Star certification this year at a ceremony organized by United Illuminating at the Energize Connecticut Center in North Haven.
Qualifying municipalities were presented with plaques by Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner Robert Klee, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environmental Scientist Linda Darveau and UIL Holdings Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Anthony Marone.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certifies appliances and buildings as “Energy Star” if they are energy efficient. Only certain categories of buildings, such as office buildings, Town Halls and schools, are eligible to earn this qualification.
The Energy Star certification means that a building is more energy efficient than 75% of similar buildings in the same category.
“I am so pleased that the Town has been recognized for all of our hard work to be good environmental stewards and lead by example,” said First Selectman Ellen Scalettar. “Both Boards of Education and school staffs should be commended for working hard to lower their schools’ energy footprints. I’d also like to thank the Town’s Energy Task Force for educating residents about how to save energy at home.”
The Town of Woodbridge is monitoring the energy usage at eight municipal buildings and two schools – Beecher Road School and Amity Regional High School – through an online tool created by the EPA to measure and track energy consumption, as well as greenhouse emissions.
Recently, the Town earned approximately $500,000 in incentives to complete lighting, and window upgrades, as well as improvements to the chiller and boiler systems at Beecher Road School. Furthermore, Amity Regional High School has completed lighting upgrades and is getting the benefit of the microgrid-related fuel cell which will provide heat to the building.
Taken altogether, Woodbridge’s efforts have resulted in an approximate annual reduction of 7,826 MMbtu which is equal to the amount of energy consumed by roughly 78 homes. Additionally, the Town reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 1,016 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCDE) which produces the same results as if about 213 cars were removed from the road for one year. Overall, Woodbridge has achieved an annual estimated energy cost savings of nearly $440,000.