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To lower its energy use and its impact on the environment, the Elizabeth Stone House (ESH) has made several changes to its lighting systems.
With the money it raised on NGE’s Green Project Listing Site, the family shelter in Roxbury, Mass. upgraded its interior hallway lights to function on motion sensors. This means that the lights only turn on when they’re needed whereas previously they were on 24/7.
“In a lot of areas, people come and go infrequently so having lights on for 24 hours a day was really kind of a waste,” said John Button from Blue Hills Electric Corp, the company that performed the upgrade. “We’re savings at least 70 percent in those areas.”
And, after only a few months, a portion of these savings has already been realized.
“In the last month it has been the lowest wattage of the whole year,” said Maryann Chaisson, ESH’s director of operations.
But a lower electric bill wasn’t the only appeal of the project to ESH.
“It’s also great to cut down on our carbon footprint,” Chaisson said. “Save some energy and save some money for the Stone House.”
Overall, the project is expected to save ESH $70,180 and it will lower its carbon emissions by 555,337 lbs.
This interior lighting upgrade project is the second ESH green project funded on NGE’s Green Project Listing Site. Last year, NGE and ESH raised $1,815 for an exterior lighting project, which is estimated to save the center an additional $13,910 and 107,580 lbs of CO2.
Want to support a green energy project or an organization in your neighborhood? Check out our Green Project Listing Site to see how you can help!
– Reporting for this post was done by Martha Julien and Joseph Cote.
