LED streetlight

Charlotte Milan, co-chair of Sustainable Arlington, a Vision 2020 Committee, tells how her group's work helped get the $200,188 grant for three municipal energy-efficiency projects. The funding will buy and install a new energy-management system at the Hardy School, fund an ongoing program for steam-trap maintenance at Arlington High School and continue to replace Arlington's streetlights with state-of-the-art, low-energy-use LED technology.

Jan. 22: Sustaining Arlington | July 15: $200k to support streetlights, 'greener' Hardy, AHS

At a time when purse strings are tight, can any of us really afford to think about our responsibility to the environment?Saving energy also saves money, and Arlington is among the leading communities in the commonwealth to weave those two factors together for the benefit of town finances. 

How many Arlingtonians does it take to screw in a light-emitting diode (LED)? Sustainable Arlington believes it should take as many as possible.

It takes many energy-saving actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. More and more residents are replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lights, or CFLs. For the town, the parallel efficiency step is to use the greatest energy-saving technology for our buildings, street and traffic lights, and municipal vehicle fleet. 

Many forces brought to bear

Arlington pulled together many forces to make sure we have the funds for those new light-emitting diodes. What follows is a story of dedicated public servants and volunteers working together on a vital common goal -- to reduce energy use and energy costs for Arlington.
Sustainable Arlington members Lisa Weil and Shelly Dein led the drive last fall and winter to pass critical town legislation that put Arlington in the position to be able to apply to be designated as a Green Community.

They attended meetings with the Arlington Redevelopment Board, and the curremt ARB chair, Chris Loreti, attended a number of Sustainable Arlington (SA) meetings about needed warrant articles, including adoption of the Stretch Energy Code.

Weil and Dein also reached out to the Planning department, offering SA support around public education and outreach to Town Meeting members and Selectmen. The Stretch Energy code was endorsed by the Board of Selectmen, which has shown ongoing support for town employees during the Green Communities application process. 
Weil submitted the town warrant article to permit ground-based PV installations by right. 

Stretch Energy Code progresses 

Marc Breslow, in his role at the state Department of Energy Resources and an SA member, made a presentation to Town Meeting members regarding what the Stretch Energy Code entails. At Town Meeting this spring, SA members prepared printed explanations of what Green Communities status would mean for the Town, and distributed these to all Town Meeting members.

Loreti and Carol Kowalski, town planning director, made eloquent presentations to Town Meeting, where Brucie Moulton stepped up to the microphone and voiced Sustainable Arlington's support of the Stretch Energy Code. Scott Samenfeld and David Landskov kept the SA community of almost 200 members updated, by posting information on the SA Web site.

When it came time to submit the town's application to become a Green Community, Dein and Ryan Katofsky worked with Domenic Lanzillotti, the town purchasing director, to collect data on current town building, vehicle, and public-lighting energy use and build a model to estimate energy savings potential.

They also met with Mark Miano, superintendent of building maintenance, to identify energy-efficiency project opportunities in town facilities, and reviewed the Capital Planning Committee’s report on future town projects.

This information was then used by Town Manager Brian Sullivan and Deputy Town Manager Adam Chapdelaine to prepare an energy-reduction plan for the town (a requirement for Green Community certification). Also assisting with the narrative writing of the Energy Reduction Plan were SA members Katofsky, Dein, Moulton and Milan. 

The bulk of the application was completed by the Planning Department's Laura Wiener, who had been working for months to prepare the narratives for the four additional criteria Arlington needed to meet to be eligible for Green Community designation.

Once designation was confirmed, there was little time to waste before the grant application was due. Upon thorough review of Arlington's energy-efficiency project opportunities, Miano made recommendations to the town manager's office. Working with SA members, the town staff prioritized the three projects that were the subject of the grant award. 

Impact at AHS

At AHS, completing upgrades to the steam traps (part of the heating system) will reduce energy losses by about 10 percent. Coupled with a new boiler that is planned for installation this summer, total heating fuel use at AHS should be reduced by an amazing 40 percent.

Also, energy cost savings from proper steam-trap operation should be sufficient to create a self-funding steam-trap maintenance program for the high school and the handful of Town buildings that heat with steam.

The EMS for the Hardy School will help reduce energy use by an estimated 5 to 10 percent by improving the management of existing systems.

Last, the town will be able to install about 500 LED streetlights as the existing stock of high-pressure sodium (HPS bulbs need replacing, resulting in an estimated 50 percent reduction in electricity use. These LED fixtures are also expected to last about twice as long as the HPS fixtures, saving on maintenance and bulb replacement costs.

Because of the town’s designation, Arlington has also received five Big Belly solar trash barrels, which use PV energy to compact trash, reducing the number of times trash barrels need to be picked up. Look for them along Mass Ave.

The town is also in line to receive comprehensive energy audits of some municipal buildings, to identify and prioritize other savings.
These projects are a continuation of the town’s longstanding efforts to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, while saving money. Many more such projects are anticipated in the coming months and years as the town works toward the goal of reducing energy use by 20 percent over the next five years. 

Sustainable Arlington is a Vision 2020 Environment Task Group Committee dedicated to acting on a local level to promote climate stabilization and other important environmental goals. Learn more about Sustainable Arlington's activities at sustainablearlington.org.