- Appliances: use less power
- Beware vampire appliances
- Commercial building energy assessments
- Commercial building incentives
- Common mistakes
- Gifts that save energy all year
- Heating and coolling savings
- Holiday lighting: festive & efficient
- Insulation types: pros & cons
- Kitchens: ways to save
- Lower your utility bills
- Path to Energy Efficiency
- Programmable Thermostats
- Radon: test after energy upgrade
- Refrigerator: retire for quick payback
- Resolutions to conserve energy and save money
- Seal duct leaks
- Stack Effect Influences Energy Use
- Systems in house work together
- Wash clothes in cold water
- Water heating bills
- Where to make home improvements
- Windows: repair, don't replace
Incentives available for boosting efficiency in commercial buildings
Your Path to Energy Savings
By Dominic Frongillo , Special to The Ithaca Journal
January 24, 2010
Own a commercial building in Tompkins County? Improve your bottom line by upgrading your commercial building for big energy savings.
Energy use is often a significant opportunity to cut building operating costs. The first step in cutting your building's energy use is an energy assessment, which can help identify cost-effective opportunities to upgrade your building's energy efficiency.
Lighting upgrades are typically very cost-effective. Does your building still use energy-wasting incandescent or T12 fluorescent lamps? T12 lamps are the most common but the least efficient fluorescent lamps. Consider upgrading to energy-efficient T8 or T5 lamps for greater efficiency, intensity, and bulb life. Also, consider installing occupancy sensors, upgrading fixtures, and removing lamps in over-lit spaces.
NYSERDA and NYSEG offer incentives and loans incentives that can help make energy-efficiency upgrades more affordable once you know the energy upgrades you wish to make to your building.
NYSERDA's Existing Facilities program offers two types of incentives: pre-qualified and performance-based. Pre-qualified incentives are available for purchase and installation of pre-approved energy-efficient equipment for small-sized energy projects, up to $30,000 each for electric and gas upgrades per facility annually. The incentives are based on program-specific criteria. Performance-based incentives are available for larger upgrades, and require analysis and pre-approval, and can cover up to 50 percent of project cost. For details on these programs visit http://existingfacilities.nyserda.org or call Dennis Mastro, the Regional Energy $mart Communities Coordinator (607-266-6616).
NYSEG offers similar incentives, plus a small-business program that provides incentives for businesses using less than 100 kilowatts. Eligible businesses can receive free energy assessments and incentives for up to 70 percent of the cost of recommended lighting upgrades. For more information, go to www.nyseg.com and click on "Energy Efficiency Incentives."
To be eligible for these programs, the energy payments for the building must include the System Benefits Charge. The same measures cannot receive duplicate incentives.
