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EAGLE COUNTY, Colorado — A group of about 25 local businesses will probably see some significant savings on their energy bills this year, thanks to a just-finished grant program run by the Eagle Valley Alliance for Sustainability.
The program used money from a state program, the “Main Street Efficiency Initiatives.” At first, the state grant went toward marketing and administrative costs — including paying Alliance staff member John-Ryan Lockman. But, Lockman said, in the past three months the program received some money for rebates to businesses that took on energy-efficiency programs.
Many of the participating businesses went with new fluorescent lighting, and changing from fixtures that use old “T-12” tubes to new, more efficient “T-8” bulbs. While that seems like a simple job, it does require an electrician. Still, the new bulbs are roughly 70 percent more efficient than the old ones.
Aside from lighting improvements, the last round of rebates also funded some larger projects.
Crazy Mountain Brewing in Edwards replaced the compressor fans on the company's walk-in refrigerators. Brewery co-owner Kevin Selvy said the old fans ran non-stop, at full speed. The new fans can vary both their speed, and whether they're on or off, depending on the internal temperature of the cooler.
Lockman said the upgrade will save as much as half the cost of running those coolers.
“It can be hard to handle that initial investment, but the rebates made that easier,” Selvy said.
In Eagle, Scott Schlosser owns the building on Broadway that houses the Red Canyon Cafe and the Juniper Moon hair studio. That building is the better part of 100 years old, and was in dire need of some efficiency upgrades. The Alliance rebate program helped pay for insulating the old building's crawl space.
“We didn't plan for this right now, but the funds were available, so we went ahead,” Schlosser said.
As a self-described “believer” in retrofitting old buildings, Schlosser said the improvements are a good thing in their own right. Add in the ability to both lower utility costs and hire local contractors to do the work, “and it's a win-win all around,” Schlosser said.
While the Alliance's most recent rebate program is over, Holy Cross Energy will roll out a program of its own starting March 1.
Craig Tate of Holy Cross said the utility cooperative has long had a rebate program through its “We Care” program. This one, though, will be more vigorously marketed to businesses, through both flyers put into utility bills and advertisements.
Tate said the program will have a couple of elements. For basics, such as lighting fixtures, a business owner can receive a $7-per-bulb rebate just by sending in a receipt and some paperwork.
For other improvements — say, replacing fans on a walk-in cooler — a utility representative will evaluate the potential energy savings and determine what kind of rebate can be paid.
For those who still have old-style fluorescent fixtures, whatever rebates are available will help offset some of the cost of an inevitable project. Federal regulations will force manufacturers to stop making T-12 bulbs on July 1. Like incandescent bulbs, when existing supplies run out, the bulbs won't be available.
“(Rebates) might be a good incentive to get that job done,” Tate said.
The program used money from a state program, the “Main Street Efficiency Initiatives.” At first, the state grant went toward marketing and administrative costs — including paying Alliance staff member John-Ryan Lockman. But, Lockman said, in the past three months the program received some money for rebates to businesses that took on energy-efficiency programs.
Many of the participating businesses went with new fluorescent lighting, and changing from fixtures that use old “T-12” tubes to new, more efficient “T-8” bulbs. While that seems like a simple job, it does require an electrician. Still, the new bulbs are roughly 70 percent more efficient than the old ones.
Aside from lighting improvements, the last round of rebates also funded some larger projects.
Crazy Mountain Brewing in Edwards replaced the compressor fans on the company's walk-in refrigerators. Brewery co-owner Kevin Selvy said the old fans ran non-stop, at full speed. The new fans can vary both their speed, and whether they're on or off, depending on the internal temperature of the cooler.
Lockman said the upgrade will save as much as half the cost of running those coolers.
“It can be hard to handle that initial investment, but the rebates made that easier,” Selvy said.
In Eagle, Scott Schlosser owns the building on Broadway that houses the Red Canyon Cafe and the Juniper Moon hair studio. That building is the better part of 100 years old, and was in dire need of some efficiency upgrades. The Alliance rebate program helped pay for insulating the old building's crawl space.
“We didn't plan for this right now, but the funds were available, so we went ahead,” Schlosser said.
As a self-described “believer” in retrofitting old buildings, Schlosser said the improvements are a good thing in their own right. Add in the ability to both lower utility costs and hire local contractors to do the work, “and it's a win-win all around,” Schlosser said.
While the Alliance's most recent rebate program is over, Holy Cross Energy will roll out a program of its own starting March 1.
Craig Tate of Holy Cross said the utility cooperative has long had a rebate program through its “We Care” program. This one, though, will be more vigorously marketed to businesses, through both flyers put into utility bills and advertisements.
Tate said the program will have a couple of elements. For basics, such as lighting fixtures, a business owner can receive a $7-per-bulb rebate just by sending in a receipt and some paperwork.
For other improvements — say, replacing fans on a walk-in cooler — a utility representative will evaluate the potential energy savings and determine what kind of rebate can be paid.
For those who still have old-style fluorescent fixtures, whatever rebates are available will help offset some of the cost of an inevitable project. Federal regulations will force manufacturers to stop making T-12 bulbs on July 1. Like incandescent bulbs, when existing supplies run out, the bulbs won't be available.
“(Rebates) might be a good incentive to get that job done,” Tate said.
