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Committee weighs HVAC replacement and heat‑pump conversion costs; manager cites high conversion quote
Summary
Officials discussed the municipal building HVAC and the tradeoffs between replacing aging systems with conventional HVAC versus converting to electric heat pumps; staff cited a high conversion cost at another municipal building ($1.4M) vs a lower gas‑HVAC option (~$500K) as the reason for prior choices.
Committee members reviewed municipal building HVAC and potential energy‑efficiency projects tied to the town’s solar field. Staff said certain HVAC units are aging and should be considered for replacement in the next 5–10 years.
The manager described a previous analysis at Valhalla (a municipal facility) where Siemens provided comparative quotes: converting to a full heat‑pump system was estimated at approximately $1,400,000, while replacing with a gas system was about $500,000. "Their quote for the heat pumps for that building came back at $1,400,000 to convert the building. And for the gas, it came in a little over 500,000," the manager said, explaining why conversion was not chosen there.
Discussion covered hybrid approaches (heat pumps plus gas backup), using solar to power heat pumps where feasible, pursuing technical‑assistance grants and state energy programs, and the potential value of another energy audit for town buildings. Staff noted the town had submitted some buildings for earlier grant rounds but that not all town buildings made the initial cut; the manager suggested reapplying for technical assistance and grants to evaluate conversion costs and likely payback periods.
No capital appropriation was made at this meeting; staff will explore grant opportunities and return with technical assessments for key buildings.
