On April 15-16, Jeremy from ATCO performed an energy audit on the Downtown Branch of The Library. He looked at 4 things:
1. Electrical: Most especially lighting, but we also discussed opportunities relating to computers (servers & workstations) some of which we've already moved ahead with.
2. The Building "Envelope": Unfortunately the payback for much of this work is quite extended, but there may be some things we can do like weather stripping. The good news is that portions of our building are especially well built, and we're not wasting too much energy in this area.
3. Energy Consumption: relating to the natural gas it requires to heat and cool our facility.
4. Heat Delivery: Includes looking at how heat is delivered and examining whether the system might be "fighting itself" and lowering energy efficiency.
Jeremy was very knowledgeable and it was a fascinating process to watch. We talked a bit about "green-washing" items that could distract us from our task, and Jeremy outlined some probable directions his audit might point out to us. We look forward to hearing his recommendations, which will include information about how much we might save (and how soon), by making some adjustments and doing some renovations. Finally, Jeremy will help us with possible Federal funding sources that might still be available to do some of this work.