By Mayor John S. Brenner
April 7, 2008

The presidential candidates are talking about it. Local, statewide and national elected leaders are talking about it. Anyone who cares about the future of their community is talking about it – how to promote energy efficiency.

In York, we’re not just having a conversation about energy efficiency, we’re doing something about it.

Recently, the city launched a partnership with Johnson Controls, Inc. to promote energy efficiency in municipal buildings and to save money on utility bills. The city’s performance contract will not require new budget dollars. With the improvements recommended by Johnson Controls, this self-funded program is estimated to save the city at least $1.5 million over a period of 15 years.

Under its contract with Johnson Controls, city hall, which has 32-watt recessed light fixtures, would be retrofit to 25-watt T-8 lighting along with other municipal buildings. This is significant because it’s a substantial reduction in wattage from 32 to 25 watts. Also, the new electric ballasts in a 25-watt T-8 light bulb take less power than the magnetic ballasts in some light fixtures. The new T-8 light bulbs also provide as much light and the light is of a better color.

Johnson Controls also will offer the following services to make municipal government in York more energy efficient: lighting upgrades; weatherizing and insulation of thermostatic control valves in city buildings; refrigeration innovation and control; incorporation of a high-efficiency replacement boiler; indoor air quality improvements and direct digital control and building automation systems.

City residents and all those who live, work and play in the city should pay attention to this project. In the end, it will result in the city’s utility bill savings and will contribute to creating a healthier urban environment.

By entering into a guaranteed energy savings performance contract with Johnson Controls, Inc., the goal is for the city to reduce by 37 percent the Green House Gas Emissions in its largest energy-using buildings.

When the federal government refused to take action on the issue of Climate Change, over 350 cities pledged their commitment to the U.S. Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement to call attention to the global warming crisis and to begin development of local programs to reduce carbon emissions. York was one of the first to sign onto the U.S. Mayor’s Climate Protection Agreement. Through its partnership with Johnson Controls, the city is living up to that agreement.

York now stands tall and green among our pier cities to help our country meet or beat the greenhouse emission reduction target suggested for the United States in the Kyoto protocol.

Under the terms of the Kyoto protocol, municipalities are required to reduce emissions from 1990 levels by 7 percent during 2008 and 2012.

The project with Johnson Controls, Inc., a global Fortune 67 company that creates smart environments where people live, work and travel, is designed to help the city achieve its energy savings goals for municipal buildings. These changes will begin at city hall, the Voni B. Grimes Gym, the Princess Street Center, Fire Headquarters, the York City Ice Arena and York City Sewer Maintenance Building, the city’s largest energy-using buildings.

Through a performance contract with the city, Johnson Controls is providing York International’s IceMax to the York City Ice Arena early this year at cost for a five-year period while Johnson Controls features the Ice Arena as a showcase rink for IceMax.

The York City Ice Arena is the largest city-owned utility customer. The use of IceMax at the Ice Arena allows rink management to make and maintain a quality ice surface at higher temperatures, which further reduces energy costs.

In addition, Johnson Controls will introduce other innovative technologies at the Ice Arena including controlled compressors and ceiling-mounted temperature sensors – all to help reduce energy consumption and save the city money.

The city’s partnership with Johnson Controls is one of many efforts the city is making to save money on its utility bills. In conjunction with rabbittransit, the city is using biofuels in city fleet vehicles. The city also used Light Emitting Diode (LED) light bulbs on the city’s Christmas tree in downtown York this past holiday instead of the traditional incandescent light bulbs. The city estimates that it will cost $7 to run the lights on the tree for this past holiday season compared to $700 during past holiday seasons. In early 2007, the city became the first municipality to complete the installation of LED traffic signal lamps under the Municipal Utility Alliance (MUA) Program, which is offered by the Pennsylvania League of Cities and Municipalities (PLCM). And the mayor’s office currently has energy efficient lighting.

Make no mistake. The city’s efforts to promote energy efficiency will have an impact on our local community and our global environment. It’s important to remember though, if we are to have a real impact on our environment, we must all work together and do our part in our own homes and workplaces to promote energy efficiency. Every light bulb that we change and every improvement makes a difference.

For more information on how you can make a difference, visit www.yorkcity.org