E=mc˛ Technical Assistance Program for Public School Districts and Health Care Facilities
Is your school district or health care
facility planning any building and/or
building system improvements within the next three years?
Are you interested in reducing operating costs?
If you answered yes to the above questions, keep reading--through the
Department of Environmental Quality's (DEQ) E=mc˛ Technical Assistance Program,
opportunities may exist for you to leverage funds for the much-needed building
improvements while saving energy and reducing operating costs!
How do energy improvements reduce operating costs? Keeping operating costs down is a
necessity for public school districts and health care facilities. Energy efficiency improvements reduce future
utility costs. This, in turn, reduces a facility's operating expenditures.
How can energy improvements leverage funds for building maintenance and improvements?
Energy improvements save money annually by reducing the amount of energy needed within a
building. You can apply the money previously spent on utility bills directly to facility
improvements or use it to pay for facility improvement financing.
When undertaking building improvements, school district personnel and the
managers of health care facilities need information on
existing building systems and available options. Therefore, as part of the E=mc˛
Technical Assistance Program, DEQ grants up to 50 percent of Preliminary
Building Assessments (PBA) costs. PBAs gives needed information on energy
savings and cost estimates of certain building improvements without the high cost and time
lag of past technical assistance studies. The PBA also addresses upcoming equipment
replacement needs, whether the heating, ventilation and cooling system is operating at
design specifications and the potential benefits of "recommissioning" the
existing system. After receiving the PBA, school district personnel and
health care facility can prioritize
projects and make informed maintenance and upgrade decisions.
For a 12-step explanation of this program, see the school districts
Overview.
For more information, e-mail: Toby Benson
or call him at (406) 841-5231.
