Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
County reports $475,000 LED lighting project at Health Department with $165,000 Ameren incentive
Loading...
Summary
Facilities staff told the committee the Health Department LED lighting project cost $475,000 and received a $165,000 incentive from Ameren; staff said the project should pay back over roughly 10 years and additional controls will improve that payback.
County facilities staff presented a monthly report highlighting an LED lighting upgrade at the McLean County Health Department that came in at $475,000. Joseph Gaither, director of facilities management, said the county received a $165,000 incentive from Ameren and that Ameren projects the county will recover the remaining cost via energy savings over the next 10 years.
Project manager Scott Fogler told the committee that the roughly 9½-year payback cited covers lighting only and is a conservative baseline: “That’s a bare minimum. It’ll only be a better payback with the controls we did,” he said, citing occupancy sensors and daylight-harvesting features that were added to the project. Fogler said it is difficult to bundle a single payback number when multiple components (lighting, controls, occupancy sensors, daylight harvesting) feed into the savings, but the kilowatt-usage data should show improvements once meters are read.
Gaither also noted routine spring maintenance work — chillers and air handlers brought online and upgrades to water fixtures that limit continuous runs through an air-timer mechanism — and said the combined efforts are part of county steps to lower energy use and operating costs.
What happens next: facilities staff will monitor kilowatt usage to quantify savings and report back; the committee carries forward EECBG and other grant-related budget actions that align with county energy-efficiency efforts.
