Schneider Electric presents Canton facilities upgrades, solar rollout; city to own rooftop arrays
Loading...
Summary
Schneider Electric updated council on HVAC and roof replacements, demonstration solar installations and upcoming rooftop arrays; contractor projected roughly $75,000 in annual energy savings for the city and estimated a 20-year window of panel life and a 20-year roof warranty.
A Schneider Electric representative updated the Canton City Council on a multi-year sustainability and historic preservation initiative that replaced HVAC equipment, repaired roofs and installed demonstration solar features, and said the city will own soon-to-be-installed rooftop solar arrays.
"We projected that there will be a $75,000 a year annual reduction in your energy and operational costs," said Jen Miller of Schneider Electric, describing modeling tied to the recently completed work on City Hall and the public safety complex. Miller said the projected savings amount to a roughly 32% decrease in energy use at the facilities touched and about $2 million over 20 years; she added Schneider will track and report actual performance once the final construction phase is complete.
Schneider and staff showed before-and-after photos of replaced mechanical units, reworked ductwork and a new roof on the historic City Hall building. Miller also described demonstration installations that are already in use: a solar "tree" at Etowah River Park that powers a concession stand and provides public charging, and a solar picnic table at Heritage Park.
On rooftop solar for City Hall, Miller said procurement for materials had been the schedule bottleneck and that installation should be complete by May. She told council the city will own the solar arrays; it is not a power-purchase agreement. When asked about warranties and service life, Miller said the new City Hall roof carries a 20-year warranty and panel projections were modeled on a 20-year conservative production life (she said panels frequently last 20 to 30 years). On ongoing maintenance, Miller said cleaning was a primary city responsibility but Schneider can offer annual maintenance services under contract.
Council members asked about panel life, warranty coverage, and whether maintenance would be done by the city or the contractor; Miller and staff said those details would be coordinated with city operations as part of the handoff.
Ending: Councilmembers praised the installations already visible in parks and asked staff to return with operating reports when the rooftop arrays begin producing to validate the projected savings.
