Trane Technologies -
February 25, 2010
Clayton County Launches Infrastructure Upgrades Expected to Save Nearly $575,000 Annually
Ceremony Initiates Energy-Saving Improvements
Clayton County will soon undertake infrastructure upgrades to its buildings anticipated to improve its annual budget by nearly $575,000.
The county expects the renovations to save $361,000 in annual utility costs and to generate $213,000 in annual carbon credit revenues. The energy-saving plan offers the added benefits of improving the comfort and productivity of county employees and reducing the county’s environmental impact. The upgrades are scheduled for seven county facilities and the county landfill.
Clayton County will formally launch the infrastructure upgrades with a ceremony and reception on Thursday, Jan. 28 at 4 p.m. in the board room at the Clayton County Board of Commissioners office, located at 112 Smith St., in Jonesboro, Ga. 30236.
The ceremony will feature members of the Clayton County Board of Commissioners, including Eldrin Bell, chairman, and two Trane representatives. Local community leaders will also be invited to the event.
The $5.5 million in renovations will be funded with a performance contract, a model that allows counties and other building owners to use future energy and operational savings to finance infrastructure improvement projects.
A performance contract is an option for funding energy-saving improvements in buildings that provides measurable business results. By managing and optimizing energy use, counties can leverage operational savings to support strategic business objectives.
“We’re excited about implementing these new energy efficient upgrades in our county buildings that will also improve the working conditions for county employees,” said Eldrin Bell, chairman of the Clayton County Board of Commissioners. “We’re especially pleased that we’ll be able to pay for the upgrades through energy and operational savings.”
Energy-Saving Upgrades Meet County Needs
Prior to selecting specific energy conservation measures, officials completed a formal audit of county buildings to identify installations that would best meet the county’s needs. In particular, the county wanted to address inadequate cooling at the Department of Family and Children Services complex, temperature control issues at the County Archives building, urgent piping issues at the Annex III building and collection of methane gas at the landfill.
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Clayton County Launches Infrastructure Upgrades - 2
Renovations to address these pressing needs will include replacing or redesigning heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems to increase temperature control, reduce energy consumption and decrease operating costs at the Department of Family and Children Services complex, Annex III, the County Archives building, the justice complex and the Clayton Center behavioral health buildings.
County officials will also install a methane collection system at the landfill to meet forthcoming Environmental Protection Agency mandates. The collection system will enable the county to capture carbon credits as a revenue stream.
Officials will replace nearly 12,500 light fixtures with high-efficiency lighting technology throughout seven buildings. The new fixtures will enhance lighting and reduce related expenses. Additionally, the county will install motion sensors in critical areas of six buildings. The areas include lobbies, kitchen/dining areas, conference rooms, offices and warehouse areas. The motion sensors switch lights off in unused rooms to extend the life of fixtures and bulbs while lowering energy consumption.
The county will replace plumbing fixtures in the County Archives building with high-efficiency devices to decrease water use. Other upgrades will include installing automation systems in six buildings to centralize control and provide remote access.
Outdated building automation systems will be replaced with high-efficiency systems at the Department of Family and Children Services complex, Annex III, the Headquarters Library on Battle Creek Road, the County Archives building and at the Clayton Center buildings. The control system at the justice complex will be updated to work with the new design of the central chilled water plant.
The county will also retrofit the library’s main entry to minimize air infiltration and the loss of conditioned air. To reduce the unit cost for electricity and to leverage the current rate structure, the county will consolidate electricity meters within the justice complex and the Lundquist Aquatics buildings.
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About Clayton County
Clayton County is a community made up of nearly 280,000 citizens and is ideally situated just south of downtown Atlanta. The county serves as a major transportation gateway of the Southeast with two major interstates (I-75 and I-85) connecting and transporting travelers as well as goods and services through the county and other parts of the country. Clayton is home to the world’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which serves millions of international travelers daily. Clayton County possesses an innovative water recycling system that has positioned the county as one of the nation’s top “water smart” communities. The county is also proud of its inclusion with the Innovation Crescent, which is the largest concentration of bio-tech and life science companies in the state of Georgia in which $1.10 billion has been utilized in the area of research and development.
With its inland beach, vast recreational acreage, a four-year college and state-of-the art healthcare facilities, Clayton County is an ideal place to live, work and play.
About Trane
Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand - the world leader in creating and sustaining safe, comfortable and energy efficient environments - improves the performance of homes and buildings around the world. Trane solutions optimize indoor environments with a broad portfolio of energy efficient heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems, building and contracting services, parts support and advanced controls for homes and commercial buildings. For more information, visit
www.Trane.com.
Reporters may contact: Joan Schimml, (651) 407-3897,
joan.schimml@trane.com, or Jamie Carlington, (770) 477-3211,
jamie.carlington@co.clayton.ga.us