12 ConneCTiCuT Green Guide • Fall 2014 www.CTGreenGuide.com
SMArT BuSinESS: SiLVEr STAr DinEr
Norwalk Dinner Saves $20K
With No Upfront Costs
A
s a small business owner, Alex Savvidis, owner of Norwalk's Silver
Star Diner, is always looking for ways to cut expenses and improve
his customers' dining experience.
Savvidis said he achieved both by making $128,370 in energy efficiency
upgrades, using state grants and a no-interest loan that will cost him noth-
ing out of pocket.
Silver Star Diner received a $77,789 no-interest small business loan from
Energize Connecticut that will be repaid on the restaurant's electric bill. The
energy savings offsets the loan payments, and after the repayment period,
the diner will continue to save $20,000 annually.
News Cycle
Steam rises from
the grill at the
Silver Star Diner
toward the new
energy efficient
stove hood.
PhoTo | ConTriBuTed
Commercial Sales & Service • 716 Brook Street • Rocky Hill CT • 800-959-9092 • www.trane.com
INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS,
SYSTEMS AND
SERVICES
We're addressing growing
concerns about sustainability,
the environment and energy
efficiency by engineering new
ways to make buildings
be er.
CT Children's Named
Efficiency Champion
The northeast Energy Efficiency Partner-
ships named Connecticut Children's Medical
Center as a 2014 Business Leader State Cham-
pion for the hospital's $1.4 million project that
improved its energy infrastructure.
The medical center paid $900,000 out of
pocket and received a $500,000 grant from
Berlin utility Connecticut Light & Power to in-
clude efficiency upgrades as part of an overall
renovation project. The hospital is expected to
save $150,000 on its energy costs annually.
nEEP also recognized Firestone Building
Products in Bristol for its upgrades to heaters,
energy management, and lighting systems,
as well as Energizer holdings in Shelton for its
insulation, hVAC, and lighting upgrades.
The avoided emissions from CT Children's
energy improvements is equal to taking
106 cars off the road.
PhoTo | hBJ File
