http://chirpstory.com/li/60933
STRATFORD -- Visitors to the council chambers at Town Hall may have noticed that the room is lighted by a pair of outsized candelabra-style lighting fixtures. In the old days of incandescent bulbs, they each consumed about 640 watts of power. Now they're glowing with light-emitting diodes, and they use only about 144 watts. The updated lamps are part of a massive $10 million project that's cutting energy use -- primarily heating, lighting, air conditioning and refrigeration -- and topping the state in municipal energy savings. "Stratford is a leader -- they're out in front in taking energy savings to the next level," said Patrick McDonnell, United Illuminating's director of conservation and energy management. "There's really no magic here -- you use the energy savings to pay off your investment." State Rep. Laura Hoydick, R-Stratford and a ranking member of the Legislature's Energy and Technology Committee, agreed with McDonnell's assessment. "In the school system alone, from 2005 to 2010, the town saved $1.5 million in reduced energy use," she said. Overall, Stratford has updated 37 of the 50-plus buildings owned by the town, according to officials. The town's latest $10 million undertaking is largely funded as a loan from a private sector initiative called the Energy Savings Performance Contract, or ESPC. The money will be paid back over the next decade from the cost savings the town is enjoying on heating oil, n...
