Ada County is a long-time proponent of energy efficiency with an established history of energy conservation planning.
Ada County’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy is to:
- Control utility costs through improved utility bills tracking and energy metering.
- Organize efforts to correct energy inefficiencies and set priorities.
- Retrofit aging and obsolete building systems.
- Incorporate sustainable design and energy efficient construction into the County’s plans for new buildings and remodels.
- Educate maintenance staff and facility managers in energy conservation.
- Improve employee awareness and participation in conserving natural resources.
- Improve community participation in managing the County’s consumption of natural resources.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 established, among other things, a program to increase energy efficiency, reduce operating costs, and reduce fossil fuel emissions. The program is called the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant, or EECBG. Ada County was a direct recipient of $433,500 EECBG funds for the following activities
EECBG Projects
| Activity | Cost | Description | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extension Office Energy Retrofit | $81,286 | Built in 1980, the facility’s HVAC and lighting system is outdated and inefficient. Upgrading the systems will reduce energy costs by an estimated 30% and make the building more comfortable for occupants. | Completed |
| Jail HVAC Upgrade of Dorm 5 | $38,681 | The Jail’s HVAC system is very old and inefficient. Upgrading the HVAC system will reduce energy costs for the 8,000 square foot dorm by an estimated 20% and make the space more comfortable for occupants | Completed |
| Jail HVAC Upgrade of Dorms 2 & 4 | $68,840 | The Jail’s HVAC system is very old and inefficient. Upgrading the HVAC system will reduce energy costs for both 8,000 square foot dorms by an estimated 20% and make the space more comfortable for occupants. | Completed |
| Measurement & Verification System | $$31,254 | The Public Safety Building Complex is a campus-type facility operating 24/7. It has 9 separate buildings on a single electric meter and two gas meters. Real-time submetering (M&V system) allows the County to track utility usage for each individual building in order to improve efficiency and reduce energy costs | Ongoing |
| Courthouse Parking Lighting Retrofit | $24,108 | The Courthouse has underground basement parking with metal halide lights that are on 24/7 and are expensive to operate. Upgrading to high-efficient induction lighting with occupancy sensors could reduce lighting costs in the basement parking by 50% with an estimated simple payback of fewer than 6 years. | Completed |
| On-Site Photovoltaic System | $89,331 | Installation of a grid-connected, net-metered, photovoltaic system on an Ada County building.
PV System on Barber Park Administration Building |
Completed |
| Energy Efficiency Plan Review | $100.000 | The Building Division of the Development Services Department conducts plan review and field inspections for energy code compliance in unincorporated Ada County. With EECBG funds, provide free energy code plan review for local builders constructing detached one-and-two-family dwellings and townhouses using the latest resources available. Train staff and provide the tools to ensure that new and renovated buildings are built in compliance with the latest references available to support the ARRA goal of achieving 90% compliance with targeted codes in all 50 states by 2017. | Ongoing |