Hartford Business Journal

www.CtGreenGuide.com Summer 2014 • Connecticut Green Guide 27 Connecticut's Energy Conscious Blueprint program, which provides $231 million annually in energy efficiency incentives, tries to get around the code problems by offer- ing additional incentives to building owners to upgrade their facilities to the proper air quality and then seek ef- ficiency measures beyond that, said Mitch Gross, spokes- man for Berlin utility Connecticut Light & Power, which administers the program in its territory. "We always encourage our customers to work with us, and we find the program that works best for them," Gross said. Ideally, building owners would want to upgrade their facilities to the proper indoor air quality for the health and comfort of the occupants, said Matthew Mullen, engineer- ing manager for EMCOR Services New England Mechanical of Vernon, which performs energy efficiency projects. "I haven't met a customer yet that doesn't want to do the right thing for the people in the building," Mullen said. "It doesn't do anybody any good to have a more energy efficient building and have everyone be uncomfortable." The state's Codes & Standards Committee is work- ing on new building codes that likely will bring down the ventilation rate for healthy indoor environments, alleviating some of the issue, Mullen said. The state's high-profile Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program designed to leverage private capital for clean energy upgrades at businesses hasn't really run into this issue, said Chris Halpin, presi- dent of Celtic Energy in Glastonbury, which evaluates all the C-PACE energy savings. About 95 percent of the C-PACE projects are either replacements of old systems or installations of renewable energy sys- tems like solar arrays, so the code requirements don't kick in, Halpin said. However, as the 1-year-old program expands, the code could become more of an issue. "I would love to see C-PACE be- ing applied more to building con- struction and rehabs," Halpin said. Joe Bierbaum, president and CEO of Stone Academy in East Hartford, expects to save $17,000 annually through upgrades made from the Small Business Energy Advantage program. Photo | hbJ File Energy Efficiency Programs Connecticut has 27 programs for businesses to make energy efficiency upgrades to their facilities. These include: Small Business Energy Advantage — Provides a free energy assessment, proposal for savings, and 50 percent of installed costs for upgrades for businesses with a 12-month average peak demand between 10-200 kilowatts. Energy Opportunities — Offers financial incentives up to 40 percent and zero-interest financing for upgrades like lighting, HVAC, chillers, motors, controls, water heaters, and cooking equipment. Retro-Commissioning — Provides an assessment to make operations of existing equipment as efficient as possible, such as shutting off non-essential equipment during peak times of demand. Cool Choice Rebate — Offers rebates on air conditioning and heat pump systems for building renovations and new construction. Vending Machine Rebate — Provides a $75 per unit rebate to install motion sensors on vending machines that can shut down machines during periods of low use, saving 20-70 percent on the machine's energy operations annually. SOURCE: ENERGIZE CT Green Tip: When constructing or renovating, pressurize and test all ducts for leakage before dropped ceilings are installed.

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