Middletown Township
At a Glance
Industry
Government/Public Administration
Project Type
Commercial Energy Efficiency
Year
2011
Location
Middletown, NJ
Summary
James Hildenbrand assisted Middletown Township in continuing towards its goal of being a sustainability leader.
Goals
James Hildenbrand spent his summer as an EDF Climate Corps fellow in Middletown Township in New Jersey, helping to manage the town’s carbon footprint as it aims to become a leader in sustainability. Middletown already showed its commitment to the environment by engaging in a number of state-run programs, including pursuing Sustainable New Jersey Bronze status in 2010 and undergoing two energy audits, but wanted Hildenbrand to uncover additional sustainability projects.
Solutions
Over 10 weeks, Hildenbrand investigated and evaluated the tracking systems, lighting, hot water heaters, roofing, insulation, HVAC systems, and temperature settings in 12 of Middletown’s buildings, which included a police station, boxing ring, arts center, senior center, court room and nature center. Hildenbrand established a baseline energy use for the town and recommended it subscribe to and use Utility Trac by Facility Dude to track and manage energy use across buildings. One of Hildenbrand's projects focused on the potential savings from temperature settings because HVAC generally accounts for 40% of commercial energy consumption. By implementing temperature setbacks and programming thermostats to run only when necessary, Middletown could find energy savings of over $73,000 per year.
Potential Impact
If Hildenbrand’s projects are carried out, Middletown could save over $210,000 in energy costs per year, reduce electricity use by 1.7 million kWh annually, and cut carbon emissions by 715 tons each year.